logo
Stocks are mixed and S&P 500 hovers near record high as Washington and Beijing discuss trade

Stocks are mixed and S&P 500 hovers near record high as Washington and Beijing discuss trade

CNN15 hours ago

US stocks were mixed on Monday and the S&P 500 approached an all-time high as trade talks between the US and China kicked off in London.
The Dow fell 75 points. The broader S&P 500 was flat and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.15%. Stocks were relatively unchanged as investors monitored developments from the trade talks.
The S&P 500 on Friday hit its highest level since February and was less than 2.4% away from hitting a new record high.
The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are coming off of back-to-back weeks of gains. The US stock market has steadily rallied in the last two months as President Donald Trump has softened his initial plan for sweeping tariffs. After the S&P 500 tumbled to the precipice of a bear market in early April, the index has rallied more than 20%.
'Markets have moved higher on tariff postponement and the perception that they will be more moderate than initially announced,' said Richard Saperstein, chief investment officer at Treasury Partners. 'We expect markets to remain headline sensitive, as trade deals take time to negotiate and unsettling tariff news is likely to cause noticeable volatility.'
Wall Street last week rallied on optimistism about a potential thaw in trade tensions between the United States and China. The meeting on Monday between representatives from Washington and Beijing comes after Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone on Thursday.
The S&P 500's ascent towards a record high comes after a year of wild swings. Wall Street this year has been shaken by historic levels of uncertainty and volatility as Trump has gone back and forth on tariffs.
The S&P 500 slumped in March and early April as Trump rolled out his plan for massive tariffs, hitting its lowest level of the year on April 8. The market then steadily regained ground since as Trump softened his approach and paused most tariffs.
Markets have also received a boost from relatively strong economic data that has soothed nerves about how the economy has been holding up during the early stages of Trump's tariff regime. Investors this week will be attuned to new inflation data for the month of May.
The S&P 500's record high of 6,144.15 was set on February 19. The benchmark index fell as low as 4,982.77 on April 8, about 18.9% below that high, before staging a remarkable recovery.
Wall Street banks this year have have slashed and then raised their year-end projections for the S&P 500 as shifts in trade policy and surprisingly strong economic data have changed the outlook for markets.
Goldman Sachs in May raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 to 6,100 after the bank had previously cut its target twice this year. UBS in May raised its target to 6,000 after similarly having cut it earlier in the year.
Other banks have taken note, too. Deutsche Bank last week raised its year-end target to 6,550 after also having cut it earlier. JPMorgan Chase on Thursday raised its year-end target to 6,000 after a previous cut. The S&P 500 is trading just above 6,000 as of Monday.
'The earnings outlook has been sensitive to policy decisions to an unprecedented degree, specifically on tariffs,' analysts at Deutsche Bank said in a June 2 note. 'We now see the tariff drag at only about one-third of what we previously penciled in.'
Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, said in a Monday note that if the S&P 500 eclipses a new record high, it will officially end the correction that the index entered on March 13, when it had just fallen 10% from its February high. A correction is a Wall Street term for falling 10% from a record high.
Historically, the S&P 500 has risen an average of 10% over the next 127 days at the conclusion of a correction, according to Stovall. 'Meaningful, extended gains are not assured, however,' he said.
'Absent major policy surprises, the path of least resistance is to new highs,' analysts at JPMorgan Chase said in a Thursday note.
This is a developing story and will be updated.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Sending money to family in foreign countries may be taxed more
Sending money to family in foreign countries may be taxed more

Yahoo

time30 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Sending money to family in foreign countries may be taxed more

Jun. 9—Families hoping to send money to loved ones in other countries may be hit with additional fees from a tax and spending bill proposed by the Trump administration that would slap a 3.5% tax on remittances sent by anyone who is not a U.S. citizen. The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" passed through the House in May and is now being debated by the Senate. The budget bill has several proposed tax changes, which include taxing money sent from an estimated 40 million non-US citizens — including green card holders, temporary workers and undocumented immigrants — to family and friends in other countries. The bill had a 5% tax but was reduced to 3.5%. The bill is another way the Trump administration is hoping to dissuade immigrants, both documented and undocumented, from coming into the country and moving money out of the U.S. economy. Republicans believe the bill would increase the average take-home pay of U.S. citizens, while Democrats believe the bill and increased taxes are "a transfer of wealth from the working class to the rich," said Daniel Garcia, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of New Mexico. What is a remittance? Remittances refer to sending money from one person to another and is typically done between family members from one country to another. A person living and working in the U.S. would send money to family members typically living in a developing country, where this money is a source of income that contributes to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Payments are typically sent using an electronic payment service or a money transfer app. Banks, credit unions and money transfer services charge a fee for processing remittances, and fees average 10%, according to the International Monetary Fund. Cryptocurrency exchanges are not as heavily regulated and can be a way to avoid additional taxes and surcharges. "Taxing remittances would amount to a form of double taxation, since migrants already pay taxes in the country where they work," Esteban Moctezuma Barragán, Mexican Ambassador, wrote in a statement. "Imposing a tax on these transfers would disproportionately affect those with the least, without accounting for their ability to pay," Barragán added. However, some believe the 3.5% tax fee would give financial support to public services and is the most "pro-worker, pro-family and pro-American legislation we've seen in decades," said Amy Barela, chairwoman of the Republican Party of New Mexico. "Let's be clear, this measure is not about targeting individuals," she wrote in a statement to the Journal. "It's about ensuring the 3.5% fee, although modest, would also have a very meaningful impact in helping offset costs associated with public services, border security, and community infrastructure — relieving some of the financial pressure on hardworking New Mexicans who continue to bear the burden of an imbalanced system." Crucial source of revenue Mexico is the second-largest receiver of personally wired money behind India, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. In 2024, Latin America received $160.9 billion, with the U.S. accounting for 96.6% of all remittances to Mexico. They also make up 20-30% of GDP in countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras. "Remittance is a very important source of revenue in our government," said Patricia Pinzón, consul of Mexico. "This would affect Mexican families and the economy in general, but I would say the basic needs of Mexican families is the most worrying thing." However, "whatever happens in one economy will affect the other," said Pinzón. "Our economies are so interrelated that everything that happens here has a consequence in Mexico," she said. "Mexicans will not stop sending money; they'll just look for alternative ways to send it." Mexican migrant workers sent 16.7% of their labor income back to their families, and more than 80% of the income remains in the U.S. economy. The average amount of remittance sent to Mexico is roughly $350 every one to two months, which "could seem like nothing for the U.S., but it's money that a whole family lives on and covers their basics in Mexico," Pinzón said.

Asian shares gain as investors keep an eye on China-US trade talks
Asian shares gain as investors keep an eye on China-US trade talks

San Francisco Chronicle​

time34 minutes ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

Asian shares gain as investors keep an eye on China-US trade talks

Asian shares were mostly higher on Tuesday as investors kept an eye on China-U.S. trade talks that might help stave off a recession. A second day of talks was planned after U.S. and Chinese officials met in London for negotiations over various issues. The hope is that they can eventually reach a deal to reduce painfully high tariffs against each other. Most of the tariff hikes imposed since U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his trade war are paused to allow trade in everything from tiny tech gadgets to enormous machinery to continue. In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 1% to 38,473.97, while the Kospi in South Korea jumped 0.9% to 2,881.40. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged 0.2% higher, to 24,242.03 and the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.1% at 3,403.51. In Taiwan, the Taiex surged 2%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.7% to 8,578.50. On Monday, the S&P 500 edged up just 0.1% and at 6,005.88 is within 2.3% of its record set in February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped by 1 point, which is well below 0.1%, to 42,761.76. The Nasdaq composite added 0.3% to 19,591.24. Hopes that President Donald Trump will lower his tariffs after reaching trade deals with countries around the world have helped the S&P 500 has rally back after it dropped roughly 20% from its record two months ago. It's back above where it was when Trump shocked financial markets in April with his wide-ranging tariff announcement on what he called 'Liberation Day.' Some of the market's biggest moves came from the announcement of big buyout deals. Qualcomm rallied 4.1% after saying it agreed to buy Alphawave Semi in a deal valued at $2.4 billion. IonQ, meanwhile, rose 2.7% after the quantum computing and networking company said it agreed to purchase Oxford Ionics for nearly $1.08 billion. On the losing side of Wall Street was Warner Bros. Discovery, which flipped from a big early gain to a loss of 3% after saying it would split into two companies. One will get Warner Bros. Television, HBO Max and other studio brands, while the other will hold onto CNN, TNT Sports and other entertainment, sports and news television brands around the world, along with some digital products. Tesla recovered some of its sharp, recent drop. The electric vehicle company tumbled last week as Elon Musk's relationship with Trump broke apart, and it rose 4.6% Monday after flipping between gains and losses earlier in the day. The frayed relationship could end up damaging Musk's other companies that get contracts from the U.S. government, such as SpaceX. Rocket Lab, a space company that could pick up business at SpaceX's expense, rose 2.5%. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.48% from 4.51% late Friday. It fell after a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that consumers' expectations for coming inflation eased a bit in May. Economists expect a report coming on Wednesday to show inflation across the country accelerated last month to 2.5% from 2.3%. The Fed has been keeping its main interest rate steady as it waits to see how much Trump's tariffs will raise inflation and how much they will hurt the economy. A persistent increase in expectations for inflation among U.S. households could drive behavior that creates a vicious cycle that only worsens inflation. In other dealings early Tuesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil picked up 31 cents to $65.60 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, also gained 31 cents, to $67.35. The dollar rose to 144.93 Japanese yen from 144.61 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1399 from $1.1421. ___

Huawei chips are one generation behind US but firm is finding workarounds, CEO says
Huawei chips are one generation behind US but firm is finding workarounds, CEO says

Yahoo

time39 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Huawei chips are one generation behind US but firm is finding workarounds, CEO says

BEIJING (Reuters) -Huawei Technologies' chips are one generation behind those of U.S. peers but the firm is finding ways to improve performance through methods such as cluster computing, Chinese state media quoted CEO Ren Zhengfei as saying on Tuesday. The chipmaker invests 180 billion yuan ($25.07 billion) in research annually and sees promise in compound chips - or chips made from multiple elements - Ren said in an interview in the People's Daily newspaper of the governing Communist Party. The public comments are the first from Ren or Huawei about the firm's advanced chip manufacturing efforts. U.S. export controls since 2019 have prevented Huawei from accessing high-end chips and equipment to manufacture them. Huawei has since marketed its Ascend series of artificial intelligence chips which compete in China with offerings from U.S. rival Nvidia, the global leader in AI chips. The U.S. commerce department last month said use of Ascend chips would be a violation of export controls. Huawei is just one of many Chinese chipmakers, Ren said in the interview. "The United States has exaggerated Huawei's achievements. Huawei is not that great. We have to work hard to reach their evaluation," he said. "Our single chip is still behind the U.S. by a generation. We use mathematics to supplement physics, non-Moore's law to supplement Moore's law and cluster computing to supplement single chips and the results can also achieve practical conditions," he said. Cluster computing is when multiple computers work together. Moore's law refers to the speed of chip advancement. ($1 = 7.1802 Chinese yuan renminbi)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store