Stocks cautious before tariff updates, US inflation data
Reports that chip giants Nvidia and AMD would give Washington a 15-percent cut of the revenue from AI sales to China also bolstered expectations of a new pause on Washington's tariffs against China.
"The market seems very relaxed ahead of tomorrow's deadline on US-China trade talks, reflecting the assumption an extension is in the offing and a deal will eventually be reached," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
Also in view is a high-stakes summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska, which could pave the way for a Ukraine ceasefire and ease tough Western sanctions against Moscow.
London's FTSE 100 index edged higher but Paris and Frankfurt closed lower, pulled down in particular by defence stocks as investors calculated the chances of an end to the Ukraine war.The key Wall Street indices came under moderate pressure after the Nasdaq climbed to another record high on Friday, bolstered by solid earnings from tech giants in particular.
"Markets are bracing for a surprisingly busy week, with several key events and data releases likely to shape sentiment," notably US inflation, said Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank. The US consumer price index on Tuesday could provide grist for Trump's campaign against Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell. Powell has been in the president's crosshairs over his refusal to cut interest rates while awaiting the impact of Trump's tariffs blitz on the economy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Tribune
11 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
Trump says may allow lawsuit against Fed chair over renovations
TDT | Washington President Donald Trump said Tuesday he might allow "a major lawsuit against" the US central bank chief to proceed, as he complained again about renovations to the Federal Reserve headquarters and renewed pressure to lower interest rates. "The damage he has done by always being Too Late is incalculable," Trump wrote of Fed Chair Jerome Powell on his Truth Social platform. He added that he is thinking of allowing a lawsuit taking aim at Powell's oversight on the renovations in Washington, but did not offer more details. Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Powell this year over the Fed's decisions to keep interest rates steady since its last cut in December. Policy makers have been cautiously monitoring the effects of Trump's wide-ranging tariffs on the world's biggest economy, as they mulled the right time to lower rates further. This is because it takes time for levies to filter through to consumer prices.
Daily Tribune
11 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
US, China extend tariff truce for 90 days
AFP | Washington China and the United States delayed higher tariffs on each other's imports for 90 days, hours before a trade truce between the world's two largest economies was due to expire yesterday. US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that will 'extend the Tariff Suspension on China for another 90 days,' according to a post on his Truth Social platform. The White House said its halt on steeper tariffs will be in place until November 10. China also said it would continue suspending its earlier tariff hike for 90 days, starting August 12, while retaining a 10-percent duty, according to a joint statement. While the United States and China slapped escalating tariffs on each other's products this year, bringing them to prohibitive triple-digit levels and snarling trade, both countries in May agreed to temporarily lower them. As part of their truce that month, fresh US tariffs targeting China were reduced to 30 percent and the corresponding level from China was cut to 10 percent. Those rates will now hold until November -- or whenever a deal is cut before then. In the executive order posted Monday to its website, the White House reiterated its position that there are 'large and persistent annual US goods trade deficits' and they 'constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States.' The order acknowledged Washington's ongoing discussions with Beijing 'to address the lack of trade reciprocity in our economic relationship' and noted that China has continued to 'take significant steps toward remedying' the US complaints. Beijing, meanwhile, said it would 'take or maintain necessary measures to suspend or remove non-tariff countermeasures against the United States,' as agreed in Geneva in May. Trump-Xi summit? In Shanghai, China's commercial capital, residents welcomed the extended trade truce on Tuesday. 'I feel that negotiations will definitely steer the two countries toward a better direction,' said Zhang Xuan, a 25-year-old postgraduate student. Lin Peng, a commercial property leasing agent, told AFP he felt there would be more negotiations between the two nations as Trump is a 'businessman' and an escalated trade war would 'hurt his own interests too.' 'Beijing will be happy to keep the US-China negotiation going, but it is unlikely to make concessions,' warned William Yang, an analyst at the International Crisis Group. He believes China sees its leverage over rare earth exports as strong, and that Beijing will likely use it to pressure Washington. US-China Business Council president Sean Stein said the extension was 'critical to give the two governments time to negotiate an agreement,' providing much-needed certainty for companies to make plans. Since Trump took office in January, China's tariffs have essentially boomeranged, from the initially modest 10 percent hike in February, followed by repeated surges as Beijing and Washington clashed, until it hit a high of 145 percent in April. Now the tariff has been pulled back to 30 percent, a negotiated truce rate. A trade deal would 'pave the way for a Trump-Xi summit this fall,' said Asia Society Policy Institute senior vice president Wendy Cutler. But Cutler, herself a former US trade official, said: 'This will be far from a walk in the park.' Even as both countries reached a pact to cool tensions after high level talks in Geneva in May, the de-escalation has been shaky. Key economic officials convened in London in June as disagreements emerged and US officials accused their counterparts of violating the pact. Policymakers met again in Stockholm last month. 'Reciprocal' tariffs Trump said in a social media post Sunday that he hoped China will 'quickly quadruple its soybean orders,' adding this would be a way to balance trade with the United States. China's exports reached record highs in 2024, and Beijing reported that their exports exceeded expectations in June, climbing 5.8 percent year-onyear, as the world's number-two economy works to sustain growth. Since returning to the presidency, Trump has separately slapped a 10 percent 'reciprocal' tariff on almost all trading partners, aimed at addressing trade practices Washington has deemed unfair. This surged to varying steeper levels last Thursday for dozens of economies. Major partners like the European Union, Japan and South Korea now see a 15 percent US duty on many products, while the level went as high as 41 percent for Syria.
Daily Tribune
21 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
INOVEST announces financial results for first half of 2025
INOVEST announced its financial results for the second quarter and first half of 2025, showing a consolidated net income attributable to the parent shareholders of US$ 200 thousand in comparison to a net loss attributable to the parent shareholders of US$ 1.785 million for the same quarter of 2024. Accordingly, the Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share for the second quarter of 2025 increased to US cent 0.07 as compared to a loss of US cents 0.59 for the same period in 2024. The losses recorded during the same period last year were primarily attributable to the underperformance of the contracting segment, which was impacted by a number of operational and financial challenges, negatively affecting the Group's overall results at the time. The net operating income stood at US$ 45 thousand in the second quarter of this year in comparison to net loss of US$ 1.726 million for the second quarter of 2024. The consolidated operating income increased by 1013% to reach US$ 1.503 million in comparison to US$ 135 thousand; whilst the Group's operating expenses were reduced by 22%, standing at US$ 1.458 million in the second quarter of 2025 in comparison to US$ 1.861 million for the same period of 2024. First half INOVEST's financial results for the first half of 2025 show a consolidated net loss attributable to parent shareholders of US$ 1.064 million, as compared to net loss attributable to parent shareholders of US$ 1.669 million for the same period last year. The Basic and Diluted Loss Per Share of the parent company in the first six months of 2025 amounted to US cents 0.35 as compared to a Loss Per Share of US cents 0.55 in 2024. The continued recording of losses in the first half of 2025 is primarily attributable to the losses incurred in the contracting segment during the first quarter of the year, whereas the losses recorded in the first half of 2024 were the result of operational and financial challenges faced by the segment throughout the entire period. The consolidated net operating loss increased reaching a loss of US$ 1.486 million in comparison to loss of US$ 1.361 million for the same period of 2024 due to the aforementioned reasons. Furthermore, the consolidated operating income for the six months of 2025 decreased by 22% to reach US$ 2.155 million in comparison to US$ 2.772 million for the same period last year. Balance sheet Regarding the Group's key balance sheet indicators, the equity attributable to parent shareholders stood at US$ 135.035 million at the end of the first half of the current year, in comparison to US$ 136.099 million at the end of 2024, a decrease by 1%. Within the same period the consolidated total assets reported a slight decrease by 3% and stood at US$ 220.518 million in comparison to US$ 227.427 million at the end of 2024. liquidity On the liquidity front the cash and bank balances stood at 5% of the total consolidated assets, in comparison to 5% last year. To that end, the cash and bank balances stood at US$ 10.775 million, in comparison to US$ 10.658 million for the end of 2024, representing a 1% increase.
