S&P 500, Nasdaq off records peaks as Wall St braces for high-stakes week
President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a trade framework on Sunday, slashing EU import tariffs to 15% - half the previously threatened rate set for August 1.
At 11:30 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab gained 2.46 points, or 0.04%, to 6,390.99, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opens new tab rose 51.08 points, or 0.24%, to 21,159.40.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opens new tab fell 10.77 points, or 0.02%, to 44,891.15. The blue-chip index was about 190 points away from its December 4 record high.
Last week, a string of deals with major U.S. trade partners, including Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines, fueled robust gains on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were up about 28% and 40%, respectively, from their April lows.
"That August 1st deadline is less of an issue anymore for financial markets. They're happy that there hasn't been any big retaliation by the Japanese or the EU, and those talks have gone more or less as expected," said Bill Sterling, global strategist at GW&K Investment Management.
The market rally faces a crucial test in the coming days, with earnings releases from "Magnificent Seven" heavyweights Meta (META.O), opens new tab, Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab, Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab and Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab, which could sway broader investor sentiment in either direction.
Last week, Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab surprise capital spending hike revived enthusiasm for AI investments, even as Tesla disappointed by warning of tough quarters ahead amid shrinking electric vehicle subsidies.
Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab jumped 3.6% after the automaker signed a $16.5 billion deal to source chips from Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), opens new tab.
Meanwhile, Washington's latest pact with the 27-member EU bloc has raised expectations that a global trade war could be averted, as other economies worldwide scramble to finalize agreements before the August 1 deadline.
The ongoing U.S.-China talks are expected to extend their fragile trade truce by another three months, while negotiations with India are also underway.
A key highlight of the week will be the Fed's two-day policy meeting starting Tuesday, with traders widely expecting the central bank to keep interest rates steady. As per the CME Group's FedWatch tool, odds for a September cut stand at 60.4%.
The meeting comes amid an aggressive campaign by the White House to pressure the Fed into lowering borrowing costs. Trump on Friday suggested Powell might be ready to lower interest rates.
Among a deluge of key economic indicators this week, attention will be on the Personal Consumption Expenditure report (PCE) - the Fed's preferred inflation measure - and non-farm payrolls data to gauge how tariffs have affected consumer prices and the labor market.
Ether-linked companies GameSquare (GAME.O), opens new tab and BTCS (BTCS.O), opens new tab were up 1.7% and 4.7%, respectively after Ethereum prices briefly hit an over seven-month high.
Nike (NKE.N), opens new tab jumped 3.8% after J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "neutral" and said investors should "just buy it".
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.79-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 1.44-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 58 new highs and 32 new lows.
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