logo
European markets are set to open higher ahead of flash inflation data

European markets are set to open higher ahead of flash inflation data

CNBC2 days ago

London was the No. 2 most-visited city in the world for 2023, according to Euromonitor International.
Karl Hendon | Moment | Getty Images
Good morning from London, welcome to CNBC's live blog covering all the action in European financial markets, as well as business news, analysis, earnings and data.
Futures data from IG on Tuesday morning suggests London's FTSE will open 6 points higher at 8,787, Germany's DAX 42 points higher at 23,984, France's CAC 40 up 6 points at 7,741 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 106 points at 40,073.
The specter of U.S. tariffs has returned to the fore for markets this week, after President Donald Trump said Friday that he will double tariffs on steel imports from 25% to 50% on June 4.
Investors will also be monitoring any developments in trade talks between the U.S. and China, which soured last week. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett suggested Sunday that Trump and China's President Xi Jinping could have a conversation as soon as this week
— Holly Ellyatt
A cafe bar near the Eiffel Tower on Oct. 5, 2020, in Paris, France.
Kiran Ridley | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Investors in Europe will be keeping a close eye on the latest inflation data from the euro zone.
Flash data from the single currency area is expected to show inflation cooled toward 2% in May, paving the way for the European Central Bank to deliver a widely expected 25 basis point rate cut at its next meeting on Thursday.
Euro zone inflation was unchanged at 2.2% in April, missing expectations for a move lower.
— Holly Ellyatt
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on June 2, 2025.
NYSE
U.S. stock futures slipped on Tuesday morning after the major averages began June's trading on a positive note.
In the regular session, the S&P 500 climbed 0.41%. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.67%, and the Dow added 35.41 points, or 0.08%.
Stocks ended Monday higher despite rising tensions between China and the United States, with Beijing countering President Donald Trump's accusations that it had violated a temporary trade agreement. Investors had grown hopeful that the two countries could work out a trade deal, but this latest development points to negotiations taking a turn for the worse.
Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose overnight after China's manufacturing activity in May shrank at the fastest pace since September 2022, a private survey showed.
The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers' index came in at 48.3, missing Reuters' median estimate of 50.6 and dropping sharply from 50.4 in April, as a sharper decline in new export orders highlighted the impact of prohibitive U.S. tariffs.
— Holly Ellyatt, Amala Balakrishner and Lisa Kailai Han

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump Budget Drops Protections For State Medical Cannabis Programs
Trump Budget Drops Protections For State Medical Cannabis Programs

Forbes

time9 minutes ago

  • Forbes

Trump Budget Drops Protections For State Medical Cannabis Programs

The White House budget request for 2026 omits language that has protected state-regulated medical ... More cannabis operators from federal prosecution for more than decade. The Trump administration's budget request for the 2026 fiscal year drops provisions that have protected state medical cannabis programs for more than a decade, online cannabis news outlet Marijuana Moment reported on Monday. The budget provision has blocked federal law enforcement agencies from spending resources to investigate or prosecute businesses operating in compliance with state-authorized medical cannabis programs, despite the continued prohibition of marijuana under federal law. 'This provision, which has been in place since 2014, protects patients, caregivers, and medical cannabis providers in the 39 states that have legalized medical access from federal interference or criminal prosecution,' the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) wrote in a statement. 'Prior to the passage of this protection, federal prosecutors routinely took actions against patients and dispensaries in legal states.' The budget restriction was first adopted by Congress in 2014 and has been included in the federal budget every year since. But the Trump administration's budget request for the 2026 fiscal year released last week does not include the language. Similarly, the budget requests for each of the four years of President Donald Trump's first term omitted the protections for state-regulated medical cannabis operators. The administration of President Barack Obama also left the language prohibiting federal interference with regulated medical marijuana businesses out its budget requests following the initial adoption of the provisions. By contrast, the administration budget requests for all fours years of Joseph Biden's presidency included the protections for state-legal medical marijuana businesses. While the budget request illustrates the Trump administration's spending policies and priorities, Congress has the constitutional responsibility and authority for appropriations legislation. The congressional budget has included the language every year since 2014, despite attempts by both Democratic and Republican administrations to drop the provision. 'Today, more than half the country, including 36 states and Washington, D.C., have embraced medical marijuana, and for the past 10 years, the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment has prevented the Department of Justice from using federal funds to stop states from implementing their medical marijuana programs,' Laura A. Bianchi, co-founding partner of the cannabis and psychedelics law firm Bianchi and Brandt, writes in an email. 'Rolling back these protections would mark a significant setback for marijuana reform. Ultimately, Congress will have the final say, and the industry remains hopeful that they will uphold these vital safeguards.' When Trump signed previous appropriations bill including the protections for medical cannabis operators after requesting they be removed, his administration issued a statement that it 'will treat this provision consistent with the President's constitutional responsibility to faithfully execute the laws of the United States.' The statement, which was issued on three separate occasions, was widely interpreted to suggest that the Trump administration might ignore the budget restriction. The omission of the protections for state-legal medical cannabis programs in the Trump administration's 2026 budget request is likely to disappoint supporters of cannabis policy reform who were encouraged by the president's apparent support for decriminalizing marijuana during the 2024 election campaign. In September, Trump suggested he supported reclassifying marijuana under federal drug laws and that he would back state efforts to legalize recreational cannabis. 'As President, we will continue to focus on research to unlock the medical uses of marijuana to a Schedule 3 drug, and work with Congress to pass common sense laws, including safe banking for state authorized companies, and supporting states rights to pass marijuana laws, like in Florida, that work so well for their citizens,' Trump wrote on Truth Social, according to a report from Marijuana Moment.

How Doubling Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum Will Hit U.S. Businesses and Consumers
How Doubling Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum Will Hit U.S. Businesses and Consumers

Time​ Magazine

time13 minutes ago

  • Time​ Magazine

How Doubling Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum Will Hit U.S. Businesses and Consumers

Canned foods, cars, houses, and a range of other goods could soon get more expensive as businesses face a newly doubled tariff rate of 50% for steel and aluminum imports. President Donald Trump described the increase, which raised the levies from the 25% rate announced in February beginning on Wednesday, as an effort to 'further secure the steel industry in the United States' during a Friday rally at a steel mill in Pittsburgh, Penn.—once the heart of the domestic steel industry. But while American steel industry groups have hailed the tariff hike, economic experts have sounded alarms, saying it could further disrupt the already-volatile global supply chain and put more strain on businesses—and Americans' wallets. 'Consumers will have to pay the price,' says Virginia Tech economics professor David Beiri. 'The continued uncertainty that is created by the government is poisoning business plans.' How will steel and aluminum tariff hikes impact businesses? The United States is highly reliant on steel imports, bringing in more of the material from abroad than any other country in the world, according to the International Trade Administration. More than 26 million metric tons of steel were imported last year, most of which came from Brazil, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, and China. 'We are equally dependent on aluminum,' says Jonathan Colehower, managing director at consulting company UST. The domestic steel industry has voiced support for the increased tariffs, saying they will help it weather increased competition from foreign steel manufacturers. 'Chinese steel exports to the world have more than doubled since 2020, surging to 118 million MT in 2024—more than total North American steel production,' the American Iron and Steel Institute, one of several trade associations representing the American steel industry, said in a statement after Trump announced the higher rate. 'This tariff action will help prevent new surges in imports that would injure American steel producers and their workers.' But experts worry about the industry's ability to meet increased demand as businesses, facing the additional import costs, seek cheaper alternatives for their products. While the U.S. once dominated the steel industry, the boom has died down in the last century. 'With domestic capacity not necessarily being able to produce what we might need…there is going to be a transitory effect,' says Beiri, referring to the adjustment period the steel industry will have to navigate as the supply chain changes. Colehower says the domestic steel supply may tighten as a result of the increased tariffs, which could cause domestic prices to rise amid high demand. 'There's absolutely no way it's going to be able to make up the difference immediately,' he says of the domestic steel industry. The Aluminum Association, a trade group that represents both U.S.-based and foreign companies, said it supports tariff-free Canadian aluminum, pointing to the American aluminum industry's reliance on the country's northern neighbor. 'Aluminum is a critical material for our economy and national defense – used in everything from cars to beverage cans to fighter jets. Today, the United States is investing significantly and will need both smelted and recycled aluminum to meet growing demand,' the association said. 'In the years if not decades it will take to build new U.S. smelter capacity, our metal needs must be met by importing.' How will the higher tariffs impact the prices of goods? Steel and aluminum are used in various products, from beer cans and office supplies to automobiles—the prices for all of which are likely to rise as a result of the doubled import taxes. The Can Manufacturers Institute, the trade association of the metal can manufacturing industry, opposed the tariff increase in a statement after Trump announced the coming change in the rate, saying it would 'further increase the cost of canned goods at the grocery store.' The can manufacturing industry imports nearly 80% of its tin-mill steel from foreign countries. 'Doubling steel tariffs will inflate domestic canned food prices, and it plays into the hands of China and other foreign canned food producers, which are more than happy to undercut American farmers and food producers,' the trade association said. Beer companies and other beverage businesses are also set to be impacted. The real estate and construction industries, both of which use steel to build homes, warehouses, and other structures will be footing a bigger bill, as well, Colehower says. He predicts businesses such as Lowe's and Home Depot, the latter of which vowed before the tariff hike that it would not be increasing the cost of its goods, will be severely affected. Farm equipment and transportation vehicles, including cars, bicycles, and others, will also likely cost more as a result of the new tariff rate, Colehower says. Some companies could seek to adjust their business models in the face of increased costs. Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey, for instance, said in February that the company would consider making more beverages in plastic bottles to offset aluminum price hikes under the tariffs announced that month. Negotiations over the tariffs are ongoing between the U.S. and its trading partners, several of which have expressed ire at the increased import taxes. Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, called the steel tariffs a 'direct attack on Canadian workers.' A European Commission official on Friday said the decision 'adds further uncertainty to the global economy and increases costs for consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.' The U.K. has been spared from the tariff hike; Mexico announced Wednesday that it plans to ask for a similar exemption. Canada, Mexico, and the European Union were previously exempt from steel and aluminum tariffs Trump imposed during his first term in 2016, but are subject to the current levies.

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