Nasdaq 100 notches first record high close since February
June 24 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq 100 (.NDX), opens new tab notched a record high close on Tuesday for the first time since February, rebounding from deep losses in recent months related to worries about U.S. President Donald Trump's global tariffs.
The index, which includes 100 of the most valuable non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, rose 1.5% to end at 22,190.52 as investors welcomed a fragile truce between Israel and Iran. Its previous record high close was 22,175.60 on February 19.
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Reuters
26 minutes ago
- Reuters
Dollar stumbles as optimism from fragile Israel-Iran truce lingers
SINGAPORE, June 25 (Reuters) - The dollar struggled to regain lost ground on Wednesday as investors who have been starved of good news latched onto optimism over a fragile truce between Israel and Iran as a reason to take on more risk. Markets were jubilant and an index of global shares hit a record high overnight as a shaky ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump took hold between Iran and Israel. The two nations signalled that the air war between them had ended, at least for now, after Trump publicly scolded them for violating a ceasefire he announced. Investors heavily sold the dollar in the wake of the news, after pouring into the safe-haven currency during the 12 days of war between Israel and Iran that also saw the U.S. attack Iran's uranium-enrichment facilities. Currency moves were more subdued in early Asia trade on Wednesday though the euro remained perched near its highest since October 2021 at $1.1621, having hit that milestone in the previous session. Sterling eased 0.02% to $1.3615 but was similarly not far from Tuesday's peak of $1.3648, which marked its strongest level since January 2022. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar , which rallied sharply in the previous session, last traded 0.02% higher at $0.6492. While the truce between Israel and Iran appeared fragile, investors for now seemed to welcome any reprieve. "The market is complacent about some of the downside risks," said Joseph Capurso, head of international and sustainable economics at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. "The thing I get is this issue is not over, which means it could come back to be a driver of commodity prices and currency markets again." In other currencies, the New Zealand dollar rose 0.13% to $0.6015, while the yen steadied at 144.96 per dollar. Some Bank of Japan policymakers called for keeping interest rates steady for the time being due to uncertainty over the impact of U.S. tariffs on Japan's economy, a summary of opinions at the bank's June policy meeting showed on Wednesday. The Swiss franc , which scaled a 10-1/2-year high on Tuesday, steadied at 0.8049 per dollar. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar eased slightly to 97.91. While Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stuck to his cautious approach and reiterated that the central bank was in no rush to ease rates at his semi-annual testimony to Congress on Tuesday, markets continue to price in a roughly 18% chance that the Fed could cut in July, according to the CME FedWatch tool. "We think economic growth is slowing and the improvement in services and shelter inflation will push back against tariff rises, allowing cuts to resume in September," ANZ analysts said in a note. A raft of weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data in recent weeks have bolstered expectations of Fed cuts this year, with futures pointing to nearly 60 basis points worth of easing by December. Data on Tuesday showed U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly deteriorated in June as households grew increasingly worried about job availability, another indication that labour market conditions were softening. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield , which typically reflects near-term rate expectations, fell to a 1-1/2-month low of 3.7870% on Wednesday. The benchmark 10-year yield was little changed at 4.3043%.
Reuters
33 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump administration expects deal with Harvard by end-June, Washington Post reports
WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is ramping up negotiations with Harvard University and expects a deal by the end of June to resolve the White House's campaign against the country's oldest and richest university, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday. On Friday, Trump said a deal could be announced "over the next week or so" to end a months-long battle with the Ivy League school, which sued after the administration terminated billions of dollars in grants and moved to bar the school from admitting international students.
The Guardian
33 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Judge blocks Trump from withholding EV charger funds awarded to 14 states
A US district judge has blocked the Trump administration from withholding funds previously awarded to 14 states for electric vehicle charger infrastructure. Seattle-based judge Tana Lin, who was appointed to the bench by Joe Biden in 2021, granted a partial injunction to the states that filed suit against Trump's Department of Transportation. She ruled that the states' lawsuit – led by attorneys general in California, Colorado and Washington – would likely succeed. Her ruling did not apply to the District of Columbia, Minnesota and Vermont, which she found did not provide evidence that they would suffer immediate harm. The injunction will go into effect on 1 July, unless the Trump administration files an appeal blocking it. In February, the Trump administration ordered states not to spend $5bn in funds allocated under the Biden administration as part of the national electric vehicle infrastructure (Nevi) program. The program provided up to 80% of eligible project costs to deploy electric vehicle charges. Currently, 16 states have at least one operational EV station, according to EV States Clearinghouse. 'The new leadership of the Department of Transportation … has decided to review the policies underlying the implementation of the Nevi formula program,' Emily Biondi, associate administrator for planning, environment and realty at the transportation department's Federal Highway Administration, wrote in a memo. 'As result of the rescission of the Nevi formula program guidance, the FHWA is also immediately suspending the approval of all state electric vehicle infrastructure deployment plans for all fiscal years. Therefore, effective immediately, no new obligations may occur under the Nevi formula program until the updated final Nevi formula program guidance is issued and new state plans are submitted and approved,' she added. In May, the Government Accountability Office found that the Trump administration violated the law when it withheld the funding. The administration 'must continue to carry out the statutory requirements of the program', it said. The White House challenged those findings, which it called 'wrong and legally indefensible', and ordered the transportation department to ignore them. The department is expected to release a draft of its updated electric vehicle guidance this month. During a hearing before the Seattle judge earlier this month, Leah Brown, of Washington's attorney general's office said, 'This passing reference to revised guidance and to changed priorities is simply insufficient to override congressional intent.' She added that the states aren't 'challenging the ability to revise guidance, but we are arguing that doing so simply is not a sufficient explanation for the actions that they've taken,' the Washington State Standard reported. 'The agency has no intent to withhold funds from the states,' justice department attorney Heidy Gonzalez said. 'It just wants the opportunity to review past guidance and to promulgate guidance that comports with the current administration's policies and priorities.' During his campaign for the presidency, Donald Trump voiced a hatred for electric vehicles that ran counter to his growing friendship with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. At one point in the campaign, Trump said supporters of the vehicles should 'rot in hell' and that Biden's support of EVs would bring a 'bloodbath' to the US's automotive industry. Although he later appointed Musk to serve as head of the 'department of government efficiency', Musk and Trump have since parted ways.
