NYSE Dow Jones finished today at:

[bigdog]

ASX 200 expected to rise again​

The Australian share market looks set for a good start to the week on Monday despite a poor finish to the week on Wall Street on Friday.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 16 points or 0.2% higher.
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U.S. stocks drifted through a quiet Friday as Wall Street closed an unusually calm week.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to finish the week with a modest dip of 0.5%. It’s the first week in seven where the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts moved by less than 1.5%, after careening on fears about President Donald Trump’s trade war and hopes that he’ll relent on some of his tariffs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 119 points, or 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite edged up by less than 0.1%. They finished the week with even more modest losses than the S&P 500.

All told, the S&P 500 slipped 4.03 points to 5,659.91. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 119.07 to 41,249.38, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.78 to 17,928.92.

 

[bigdog]

Dow leaps 1,100 points and S&P 500 rallies 3.3% following a 90-day truce in the US-China trade war

U.S. stocks are leaping after China and the United States announced a 90-day truce in their trade war. The S&P 500 jumped 2.6% Monday.

apnews.com

Dow leaps 1,160 points and S&P 500 rallies 3.3% following a 90-day truce in the US-China trade war​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 6:56 AM GMT+10, May 13, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rallied Monday after China and the United States announced a 90-day truce in their trade war. Each of the world’s two largest economies agreed to take down temporarily most of its tariffs against the other, which economists had warned could start a recession and create shortages on U.S. store shelves.

The S&P 500 shot up 3.3% to pull back within 5% of its all-time high set in February. It’s been roaring higher since falling nearly 20% below the mark last month on hopes that President Donald Trump will lower his tariffs after reaching trade deals with other countries. The index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts is back above where it was on April 2, Trump’s “Liberation Day,” when he announced stiff worldwide tariffs that ignited worries about a potentially self-inflicted recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1,160 points, or 2.8%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 4.3%.

It wasn’t just stocks rising following what one analyst called a “best case scenario” for US-China tariff talks, which reduced tariffs by more than what many investors expected.

Crude oil prices climbed because a global economy less burdened by tariffs will likely burn more fuel. The value of the U.S. dollar strengthened against everything from the euro to the Japanese yen to the Swiss franc. And Treasury yields jumped on expectations that the Federal Reserve won’t have to cut interest rates as deeply this year as earlier expected in order to protect the economy from the damage of tariffs.

Gold’s price fell, meanwhile, as investors felt less need to buy something safe.

The move announced Monday could add 0.4 percentage points to the U.S. economy’s growth this year, according to Jonathan Pingle, U.S. chief economist at UBS. That’s a significant chunk, and every bit counts when the U.S. economy shrank at a 0.3% annual rate in the first three months of the year.

The United States said in a joint statement that it will cut tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% from as high as 145%. China, meanwhile, said its tariffs on U.S. goods will fall to 10% from 125%. The 90-day pause gives time for more talks following the weekend’s negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, which the U.S. side said yielded “ substantial progress.”

The 90-day reprieve also comes at a vital time for the economy, allowing retailers and suppliers to “ensure that shelves are stocked for the all important back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons,” said Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth.

Of course, conditions could change quickly again, as Wall Street has seen all too often in Trump’s on-again-off-again rollout of tariffs. Big challenges still remain in the negotiations between China and the United States, and there is “no reason to believe that this will be anything other than a slow process,” said Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

The U.S.-China pause followed a deal the United States announced last week with the United Kingdom that will bring down tariffs on many U.K. imports to 10% but will still require weeks to finalize all the details.

Economic reports scheduled for later this week, including on inflation and sentiment among U.S. consumers, could also show how much damage the U.S. economy has already taken because of uncertainty about tariffs. But the mood was nevertheless ebullient across Wall Street on Monday, and gains were widespread.

Stocks of smaller companies rallied. Their livelihoods can be more dependent on the strength of the U.S. economy than their bigger and more insulated rivals, and the smaller stocks in the Russell 2000 index jumped 3.4%.

Apparel companies were also strong. Lululemon leaped 8.7%, for example. More than a quarter of its fabric came from mainland China last fiscal year, and a reduction in tariffs would mean a less-tough decision on whether to pass along increases to costs to customers or to eat them through reduced profits. Nike rose 7.3%.

Travel companies jumped on hopes that lower tariffs would encourage more customers to feel comfortable enough to spend on trips. Carnival rose 9.6%, and Delta Air Lines climbed 5.8%.
Trader Niall Pawa, left, and specialist Meric Greenbaum work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Niall Pawa, left, and specialist Meric Greenbaum work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Many retailers rose because much of what they sell comes from China and elsewhere in Asia. Best Buy jumped 6.6%, and Amazon rallied 8.1%.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 184.28 points to 5,844.19. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1,160.72 to 42,410.10, and the Nasdaq composite leaped 779.43 to 18,708.34.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across most of Europe and Asia, though often by less than the U.S. market.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 4.47% from 4.37% late Friday.

The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Fed will do with interest rates, jumped even more. It rose to 4.00% from 3.88% as traders ratcheted back expectations for how many cuts to interest rates the Fed may deliver this year.

Many traders are now betting on just two cuts this year, according to data from CME Group.

ASX 200 expected to jump​

The Australian share market is expected to jump on Tuesday following a very strong start to the week in the United States.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 97 points or 1.1% higher.

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Dow leaps 1,160 points and S&P 500 rallies 3.3% following a 90-day truce in the US-China trade war

Stocks rallied Monday after China and the United States announced a 90-day truce in their trade war. Each of the world’s two largest economies agreed to take down temporarily most of its tariffs against the other, which economists had warned could start a recession and create shortages on U.S. store shelves.

The S&P 500 shot up 3.3% to pull back within 5% of its all-time high set in February. It’s been roaring higher since falling nearly 20% below the mark last month on hopes that President Donald Trump will lower his tariffs after reaching trade deals with other countries. The index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts is back above where it was on April 2, Trump’s “Liberation Day,” when he announced stiff worldwide tariffs that ignited worries about a potentially self-inflicted recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1,160 points, or 2.8%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 4.3%.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 184.28 points to 5,844.19. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1,160.72 to 42,410.10, and the Nasdaq composite leaped 779.43 to 18,708.34.

 

[bigdog]

Wall Street rises again as the S&P 500 erases its loss for 2025

U.S. stocks rose following an encouraging report that showed inflation unexpectedly slowed across the country last month.

apnews.com

Wall Street rises again as the S&P 500 erases its loss for 2025​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 7:08 AM GMT+10, May 14, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — Most U.S. stocks rose Tuesday following an encouraging report that showed inflation unexpectedly slowed across the country last month.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.7%, coming off an even bigger gain to start the week after the United States and China announced a 90-day pause in their trade war to allow for negotiations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 269 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.6% as AI and other tech stocks led the way.

Stocks have been roaring back since the S&P 500 fell nearly 20% below its record last month on hopes that President Donald Trump will ease his stiff tariffs on trading partners worldwide before they create a recession and send inflation spiking higher. The S&P 500, which sits at the center of many 401(k) accounts, is back within 4.2% of its all-time high set in February and positive again for the year so far.

Tuesday’s report said that even with all the uncertainty around trade, and even with many businesses rushing to import products from other countries before tariffs raise their prices, inflation slowed to 2.3% last month from 2.4% in March.

It’s encouraging because such data pulls the economy further from a worst-case scenario called “stagflation,” one where the economy stagnates but inflation remains high. The Federal Reserve has no good way to fix that toxic combination. It could try to lower rates to help the economy, for example, but that would likely worsen inflation in the short term.

Even with Tuesday’s encouraging report, though, economists and analysts say inflation may still run higher in coming months because of Trump’s tariffs. That will likely leave the Fed waiting for more data to guide their decision on whether and when to cut interest rates in order to help the economy.

It’s similar to the wait that investors in general are enduring. With the Fed set to make no moves on interest rates for the time being, markets will likely trade “with negotiation and reconciliation headlines,” according to Alexandra Wilson-Elizondo, global co-head and co-chief investment officer of multi-asset solutions within Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

“I think investors are aware that the trade deal is not done yet,” said Louis Wong, director for Phillip Securities Group in Hong Kong.

“I would advise investors to remain cautious in the near term and to be prepared for unexpected news from the trade front,” he added.

On Wall Street, Coinbase Global jumped 24% after the cryptocurrency exchange learned its stock will join the widely followed S&P 500 index next week. That means many investment funds will likewise add it before trading begins on Monday. Coinbase will replace Discover Financial Services, which is getting bought by Capital One Financial.

Stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry were also strong. Nvidia rose 5.6% and was the biggest single force pushing upward on the S&P 500. It’s partnering with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund-owned AI startup Humain to ship 18,000 chips to the Middle Eastern nation to help power a new data center project.

Super Micro Computer, which builds servers used in AI, jumped 16%. GE Vernova, which is hoping to power vast AI data centers, rose 4%. Palantir Technologies gained 8.1%.

They helped offset UnitedHealth Group, whose shares tumbled 17.8% after it suspended its full-year financial forecast due to higher-than-expected medical costs. The nation’s largest health insurer also announced that CEO Andrew Witty was stepping down for personal reasons and that Chairman Stephen Hemsley will become CEO, effective immediately.

UnitedHealth was the main reason the Dow lagged behind other U.S. stock indexes.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 42.36 points to 5,886.55. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 269.67 to 42,140.43, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 301.74 to 19,010.08.

In the bond market, Treasury yields ticked higher with hopes for the U.S. economy. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.48% from 4.45% late Monday.

The two-year Treasury yield, which moves more closely with expectations for Fed action, ticked up to 4.01% from 3.98%.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia. Stocks fell 1.9% in Hong Kong but rose 1.4% in Tokyo.

Automakers were among the big gainers in Japan. Nissan Motor Co. added 3% ahead of an announcement that it plans to lay off 20,000 of its workers as part of its restructuring efforts. The automaker said Tuesday that it racked up a loss of 670.9 billion yen ($4.5 billion) in the last fiscal year.

ASX 200 expected to rise​

The Australian share market looks set to rise again on Wednesday following a decent night of trade on Wall Street.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 18 points or 0.2% higher this morning.
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Wall Street rises again as the S&P 500 erases its loss for 2025

Most U.S. stocks rose Tuesday following an encouraging report that showed inflation unexpectedly slowed across the country last month.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.7%, coming off an even bigger gain to start the week after the United States and China announced a 90-day pause in their trade war to allow for negotiations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 269 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.6% as AI and other tech stocks led the way.

Stocks have been roaring back since the S&P 500 fell nearly 20% below its record last month on hopes that President Donald Trump will ease his stiff tariffs on trading partners worldwide before they create a recession and send inflation spiking higher. The S&P 500, which sits at the center of many 401(k) accounts, is back within 4.2% of its all-time high set in February and positive again for the year so far.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 42.36 points to 5,886.55. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 269.67 to 42,140.43, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 301.74 to 19,010.08.

 

[Rabbithop]

I think it was yesterday rise n today's Dow Jones is down..it's going to be see sawing ride for a while until Trumpeter stops blowing.

 

[bigdog]

Stocks end mixed on Wall Street, holding on to most of the gains they made earlier in the week

Stocks drifted to a mixed close on Wall Street, holding on to most of the gains they made earlier in the week after the U.S. and China declared a temporary cease-fire in their trade war.

apnews.com

Stocks end mixed on Wall Street, holding on to most of the gains they made earlier in the week​

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA
Updated 6:39 AM GMT+10, May 15, 2025

A choppy day of trading on Wall Street ended with a mixed finish for stock indexes Wednesday, as gains by several big technology stocks helped temper losses.

The S&P 500 edged up 0.1% after wavering between small gains and losses much of the day. Most of the stocks in the index lost ground, but solid gains for several heavyweight technology companies like Nvidia helped counter a decline in health care and other sectors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.7%.

Super Micro Computer surged 15.7% after signing a partnership agreement with Saudi Arabian data center company DataVolt. Advanced Micro Devices gained 4.7% after announcing a $6 billion stock buyback program.

Nvidia rose 4.2% and Google parent Alphabet added 3.7%.

Other big gainers included eToro Group, a retail trading platform for stocks and cryptocurrency. It rose 28.8% in its first day of trading.

The market has been relatively steady since its surge on Monday, which came after the U.S. and China entered a 90-day pause in their trade war. The market gained some more ground on Tuesday after the government reported that inflation unexpectedly cooled across the country in April. Additional updates on inflation and retail sales are expected on Thursday.

The benchmark S&P 500 index, which sits at the center many 401(k) accounts, has erased all its losses since President Donald Trump escalated his global trade war in early April. It has now also erased its losses for the year and is back to within 4.1% of its all-time high set in February.

“The stock market’s rally has legs, as the trade negotiation with China was seemingly the toughest one on the docket,” said Rick Gardner, chief investment officer at RGA Investments.

Trump has delayed a large swath of his most severe tariffs against America’s trading partners, but some import taxes remain in place. Uncertainty over the path ahead continues to hang over businesses and consumers. The on-again-off-again nature of Trump’s trade policy has left companies reluctant to make plans about investment and hiring and consumers nervous about spending.

Businesses continue to trim or withdraw their financial forecasts as they face unpredictable trade policy and cautious consumers.

American Eagle fell 6.4% after the retailer withdrew its financial outlook for the year citing “macro uncertainty.” General Motors, UPS, Kraft Heinz and JetBlue are among the many companies representing a wide range of industries that have warned about the impact of tariffs and a weakening economy.

More than 90% of companies in the S&P 500 have reported earnings for their latest quarter. The majority of companies have reported better-than-expected earnings, but forecasts for earnings growth during the current quarter have been broadly cut in half for companies in the index.

The economy has already showed signs of slowing. It shrank 0.3% during the first quarter amid a surge of imports as businesses and consumers tried to stock up amid tariffs and policy uncertainty.

Inflation remains a big concern. The latest data on consumer prices released Tuesday showed that tariffs haven’t had much impact yet. But that could change as the impact of current tariffs make their way through supply chains and delayed tariffs potentially go into effect. Inflation has cooled to just above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%, but the threat of higher prices on goods because of import taxes has heightened worries about inflation heating up.

The U.S. on Thursday will release its April report for inflation at the wholesale level, which is what companies are paying for goods. Economists expect an easing of inflation there.

The latest update Thursday for retail sales is expected to reflect a sharp drop to 0.2% in April from 1.4% the previous month.

Retail giant Walmart will also report its latest financial results on Thursday and its financial forecasts will be closely watched.

In the bond market, Treasury yields edged higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.54% from 4.47% late Tuesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which moves more closely with expectations for Fed action, rose to 4.06% from 4.00% late Tuesday.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 6.03 points to 5,892.58. The Dow fell 89.37 points to 42,051.06, and the Nasdaq gained 136.72 points to 19,146.81.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose in Asia and were mixed in Europe.

ASX 200 expected to fall​

The Australian share market looks set to fall on Thursday despite a reasonably decent night of trade on Wall Street.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 36 points or 0.4% lower this morning.
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Stocks end mixed on Wall Street, holding on to most of the gains they made earlier in the week
A choppy day of trading on Wall Street ended with a mixed finish for stock indexes Wednesday, as gains by several big technology stocks helped temper losses.

The S&P 500 edged up 0.1% after wavering between small gains and losses much of the day. Most of the stocks in the index lost ground, but solid gains for several heavyweight technology companies like Nvidia helped counter a decline in health care and other sectors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.7%.

 

[bigdog]

Wall Street drifts back within 4% of its record after the S&P 500 notches a 4th straight gain

Most U.S. stocks drifted higher following a mixed set of reports on the U.S. economy. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% Thursday, enough to extend its winning streak to a fourth day and to pull within 3.7% of its record.

apnews.com

Wall Street drifts back within 4% of its record after the S&P 500 notches a 4th straight gain​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 7:01 AM GMT+10, May 16, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — Most U.S. stocks drifted higher in quiet trading Thursday following a jumble of mixedreports that offered little clarity on how the U.S. economy is managing through President Donald Trump’s trade war.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, enough to extend its winning streak to a fourth day and to pull within 3.7% of its all-time high set earlier this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 271 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2%.

Stocks got a lift from easing Treasury yields in the bond market. They fell after the economic reports suggested the Federal Reserve may have more room to cut interest rates later this year to bolster the U.S. economy if it weakens under the weight of high tariffs.

But the reports did little to spell out whether the economy is falling toward a recession, as many investors had been fearing, or shaking off the uncertainty after Trump called off many of his tariffs temporarily. The headliner reports said shoppers spent less at U.S. retailers last month than expected, while inflation was better at the wholesale level than economists forecast. Other updates said U.S. manufacturing looks like it’s still contracting but fewer U.S. workers are applying for unemployment benefits than expected.

Even though China and the United States recently agreed on a 90-day stand-down for many of their tariffs, “the trade story isn’t over, and it’s still going to take time for tariffs to make themselves felt in economic data,” according to Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

Such uncertainty showed itself in Walmart’s stock, which slipped 0.5% even though it reported a bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Like other U.S. companies struggling through Trump’s on-again-off-again rollout of tariffs, Walmart said it decided not to offer a forecast for how much profit it will make in the current quarter.

Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey pointed to “the range of near-term outcomes being exceedingly wide and difficult to predict,” though the company did say it expects sales to grow between 3.5% and 4.5%, not including the swings that shifting values of foreign currencies can bring.

The nation’s largest retailer also said that it must raise prices due to higher costs caused by Trump’s tariffs.
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Equipment maker Deere said it’s seeing “near-term market challenges” and called the situation “dynamic,” as many other companies have. It lowered the bottom end of its forecasted range of profit for the full year. But Deere’s stock nevertheless rose 3.8% after it reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Cisco Systems was another winner and rose 4.8% after the tech giant likewise topped expectations for profit. Analysts said they’re optimistic about Cisco’s artificial-intelligence prospects.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, Dick’s Sporting Goods tumbled 14.6% after it said it would buy the struggling Foot Locker chain for $2.4 billion. Dick’s also said that it made a better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Foot Locker soared 85.7% after coming into the day with a loss of nearly 41% for the year so far.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 24.35 points to 5,916.93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 271.69 to 42,322.75, and the Nasdaq composite fell 34.49 to 19,112.32.

In the oil market, crude prices sank roughly 2% on expectations that more petroleum could be set to flow into global markets because of a possible deal between the United States and Iran over that country’s nuclear program. Such a deal could help ease sanctions against Iran, which is a major producer of oil.

Elsewhere, China moved to reverse some of its “non-tariff” measures against the U.S. as agreed with Washington in their temporary trade war truce, while demanding that the U.S. side “immediately correct its wrong practices.”

A Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson accused the Trump administration of violating world trade rules by announcing that use of Ascend computer chips made by China’s Huawei Technologies violates U.S. export controls.

Stock indexes fell 0.8% in Hong Kong and 0.7% in Shanghai, while indexes were mixed elsewhere in Asia and Europe.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.44% from 4.53% late Wednesday. Falling bond yields can encourage investors to pay higher prices for stocks and other investments.

The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed action, dropped to 3.96% from 4.05% as traders built bets that the Fed will resume cutting its main interest rate as soon as September.

The Fed has been keeping its main interest rate on hold this year as it waits to see how Trump’s trade policies play out for the economy. Cutting rates would juice the economy by making it easier for U.S. households and companies to borrow and spend. But it would also push upward on inflation when worries are high that Trump’s tariffs will do the same thing.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned in a speech on Thursday that the world “may be entering a period of more frequent, and potentially more persistent, supply shocks” that could goose inflation higher and present a “difficult challenge for the economy and for central banks.”

ASX 200 expected to jump​

The Australian share market looks set to storm higher on Friday following a decent night in the United States.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 80 points or 1% higher this morning.
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Wall Street drifts back within 4% of its record after the S&P 500 notches a 4th straight gain

Most U.S. stocks drifted higher in quiet trading Thursday following a jumble of mixedreports that offered little clarity on how the U.S. economy is managing through President Donald Trump’s trade war.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, enough to extend its winning streak to a fourth day and to pull within 3.7% of its all-time high set earlier this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 271 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2%.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 24.35 points to 5,916.93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 271.69 to 42,322.75, and the Nasdaq composite fell 34.49 to 19,112.32.

 

[bigdog]

US stocks power within 3% of their record as Wall Street closes out a winning week

U.S. stocks rose again to close out their winning week. The S&P 500 climbed 0.7% Friday for a fifth straight gain and pulled within 3% of its record set in February.

apnews.com

US stocks power within 3% of their record as Wall Street closes out a winning week​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 6:49 AM GMT+10, May 17, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street cruised to the finish of its strong week on Friday, as U.S. stocks glided closer to the all-time high they set just a few months earlier, though it may feel like an economic era ago.

The S&P 500 rose 0.7% for a fifth straight gain and closed out its third winning week in the last four. It’s rallied back within 3% of its record set in February after briefly dropping roughly 20% below last month, thanks to building hopes that President Donald Trump will lower his tariffs against other countries after reaching trade deals with them.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 331 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5%.

Trump’s trade war had sent financial markets reeling worldwide because of twin dangers. On one hand, tariffs could slow the economy and drive it into a recession. On the other, tariffs could push inflation higher.

U.S. stocks are drifting higher Friday, wrapping up what could be a perfect week on Wall Street, as they head toward record highs set a few months ago.

This week featured some encouraging news on each of those fronts. The United States and China announced a 90-day stand-down in most of their punishing tariffs against each other, while a couple reports on inflation in the United States came in better than economists expected.

It was “a week to remember,” according to economists at Bank of America led by Claudio Irigoyen and Antonio Gabriel. But they also said they’re not expecting a significant drop in volatility, and they’re not changing big-picture forecasts.

“There is still huge uncertainty regarding the impact of tariffs on economic activity and inflation,” they said in a BofA Global Research report.

That uncertainty has been hitting U.S. households and businesses, raising worries that they may freeze their spending and long-term plans in response, which would hurt the economy. The latest reading in a survey of U.S. consumers by the University of Michigan showed sentiment soured again in May, though the pace of decline wasn’t as bad as in prior months.

Perhaps more worryingly, expectations for coming inflation keep building, and U.S. consumers are now bracing for 7.3% in the next 12 months, according to the University of Michigan’s preliminary survey results. That’s up from a forecast of 6.5% a month before.

When everyone expects inflation to be high, it could kick off a vicious cycle of behavior that only worsens inflation.

To be sure, only some of the University of Michigan’s survey responses for the preliminary May reading came after the United States and China announced their 90-day truce.

On Wall Street, Charter Communications rose 1.8% after it said it agreed to merge with Cox Communications in a deal that would combine two of the country’s largest cable companies. The resulting company will change its name to Cox Communications and keep Charter’s headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.

CoreWeave jumped 22.1% after Nvidia disclosed that it had increased its ownership stake in the company, whose cloud platform helps customers running artificial-intelligence workloads. Nvidia now owns 7% of CoreWeave, up from its nearly 6% stake before CoreWeave’s initial public offering of stock in March.

Novo Nordisk’s stock that trades in the United States fell 2.7% after the Danish company behind the Wegovy drug for weight loss said that Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen will step down as CEO and that the board is looking for his successor. The company cited “recent market challenges” and how the stock has been performing recently.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 41.45 points to 5,958.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 331.99 to 42,654.74, and the Nasdaq composite gained 98.78 to 19,211.10.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.44% from 4.45% late Thursday and from more than 4.50% the day before that. Lower bond yields can encourage investors to pay higher prices for stocks and other investments.

The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for action by the Federal Reserve, rose to 3.99% from 3.96%. It had been as low as 3.93% earlier in the morning, before the release of the University of Michigan’s survey.

Hope remains that this week’s better-than-expected signals on inflation could give the Federal Reserve more leeway to cut interest rates later this year if high tariffs drag down the U.S. economy.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly in Europe after finishing mixed in Asia.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 inched down by less than 0.1% after the government reported that Japan’s economy contracted at a faster rate than expected in the first quarter of the year.

 

[bigdog]

ASX 200 expected to edge lower​

The Australian share market looks set for a subdued start despite a decent finish to the week on Wall Street on Friday.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 7 points or 0.1% lower.
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US stocks power within 3% of their record as Wall Street closes out a winning week

Wall Street cruised to the finish of its strong week on Friday, as U.S. stocks glided closer to the all-time high they set just a few months earlier, though it may feel like an economic era ago.

The S&P 500 rose 0.7% for a fifth straight gain and closed out its third winning week in the last four. It’s rallied back within 3% of its record set in February after briefly dropping roughly 20% below last month, thanks to building hopes that President Donald Trump will lower his tariffs against other countries after reaching trade deals with them.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 331 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5%.

 

[divs4ever]

ASX 200 expected to edge lower​

The Australian share market looks set for a subdued start despite a decent finish to the week on Wall Street on Friday.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 7 points or 0.1% lower.
.
US stocks power within 3% of their record as Wall Street closes out a winning week

Wall Street cruised to the finish of its strong week on Friday, as U.S. stocks glided closer to the all-time high they set just a few months earlier, though it may feel like an economic era ago.

The S&P 500 rose 0.7% for a fifth straight gain and closed out its third winning week in the last four. It’s rallied back within 3% of its record set in February after briefly dropping roughly 20% below last month, thanks to building hopes that President Donald Trump will lower his tariffs against other countries after reaching trade deals with them.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 331 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5%.

View attachment 199724

hmmm i guess my BEAR order in the market will miss the action again ... maybe later in the week then

 

[bigdog]

Stocks, bonds and the dollar drift after the latest downgrade to the US government's credit rating

After recovering from an initial jolt, U.S. stocks drifted through quiet trading following the latest reminder that the U.S government may be hurtling toward an unsustainable mountain of debt.

apnews.com

Stocks, bonds and the dollar drift after the latest downgrade to the US government’s credit rating​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 7:18 AM GMT+10, May 20, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — After recovering from an initial jolt, U.S. stocks, bonds and the value of the U.S. dollar drifted through a quiet Monday following the latest reminder that the U.S government may be hurtling toward an unsustainable mountain of debt.

The S&P 500 edged up by 0.1% after Moody’s Ratings became the last of the three major credit-rating agencies to say the U.S. federal government no longer deserves a top-tier “Aaa” rating. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 137 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite inched up by less than 0.`%.

Moody’s pointed to how the U.S. government continues to borrow more and more money to pay for its expenses, with political bickering making it difficult to either rein in Washington’s spending or raise its revenue in order to get its ballooning debt under more control.

They’re serious problems, but nothing Moody’s said is new, and critics have been railing against Washington’s inability to control its debt for many years. Standard & Poor’s lowered its credit rating for the U.S. government in 2011.

Because the issues are so well known already, investors have likely already accounted for them, according to Brian Rehling, head of global fixed income strategy and other analysts at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. They’re expecting “limited additional market impact” following the initial reactions to the Moody’s move.

Stocks and U.S. government bond prices at first fell sharply early in Monday’s trading, but they trimmed their losses as the day progressed. The S&P 500 went from a loss of 1.1% to a modest gain of 0.2% before drifting through the afternoon.

The move by Moody’s essentially warns investors globally not to lend to the U.S. government at such low interest rates, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury briefly jumped above 4.55% early Monday morning. That number shows how much in interest the U.S. government has to pay in order to borrow money for 10 years, and it was up sharply from 4.43% late Friday. But it later regressed to 4.45% as more calm returned to the market.

The yield on a 30-year Treasury bond briefly leaped above 5% before likewise receding, up from less than 4% in September.

The downgrade by Moody’s comes ahead of a tense period for Washington, where it’s set to debate potential cuts in tax rates that could suck away more revenue, as well as the nation’s limit on how much it can borrow.

If Washington has to pay more in interest to borrow cash to pay its bills, that could filter out and cause interest rates to rise for U.S. households and businesses too, in everything from mortgage rates to auto loan rates to credit cards. That in turn could slow the economy.

The downgrade adds to a long list of concerns that have already weighed on the market. Chief among them is President Donald Trump’s trade war, which itself has forced investors globally to question whether the U.S. bond market and the U.S. dollar still deserve their reputations as some of the safest places to park cash during a crisis.

The U.S. economy seems to be holding up OK so far despite the pressures of tariffs, and hopes are high that Trump will eventually relent on his tariffs after striking trade deals with other countries. That’s a major reason the S&P 500 has rallied back within 3% of its all-time high after falling roughly 20% below that market last month.

But big companies have been warning recently they’re uncertain about the future. Walmart, for example, said recently that it will likely have to raise prices because of tariffs. That caused Trump over the weekend to criticize Walmart and demand it and China “eat the tariffs.”

Walmart’s stock slipped 0.1% Monday.

Other big retailers on the schedule to report their latest quarterly results this upcoming week include Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s and TJX Cos.

On the winning end of Wall Street was Novavax, which rose 15% after it said U.S. regulators approved its COVID-19 vaccine under some conditions. The approval triggered a $175 million milestone payment under the company’s collaboration agreement with Sanofi.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 5.22 points to 5,963.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 137.33 to 42,792.07, and the Nasdaq composite rose 4.36 to 19,215.46.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed amid mostly modest movements across Europe and Asia.

Indexes were close to flat in both Shanghai and Hong Kong after the Chinese government said retail sales rose less in April than expected. Growth in industrial output slowed to 6.1% year-on-year from 7.7% in March.

In the foreign currency markets, the value of the U.S. dollar fell against everything from the euro to the Australian dollar.

ASX 200 expected to rebound​

The Australian share market is expected to rebound on Tuesday following a solid start to the week in the United States.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 73 points or 0.8% higher.
.
Stocks, bonds and the dollar drift after the latest downgrade to the US government’s credit rating

After recovering from an initial jolt, U.S. stocks, bonds and the value of the U.S. dollar drifted through a quiet Monday following the latest reminder that the U.S government may be hurtling toward an unsustainable mountain of debt.

The S&P 500 edged up by 0.1% after Moody’s Ratings became the last of the three major credit-rating agencies to say the U.S. federal government no longer deserves a top-tier “Aaa” rating. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 137 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite inched up by less than 0.`%.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 5.22 points to 5,963.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 137.33 to 42,792.07, and the Nasdaq composite rose 4.36 to 19,215.46.

 

[ShareSuccess]

Swatch Group down 60 % overnight.......What's Going on There?

 

[ShareSuccess]

Published on 05/20/2025 at 08:44

By Romain Fournier

In today’s markets, optimism wears thin and uncertainty takes center stage - futures dipped as the $36 trillion U.S. debt load cast a long shadow over investor sentiment. From Moody’s downgrade to the specter of shadow banking fragility, the forces now shaping Wall Street feel less like macroeconomic cycles and more like tremors beneath a fragile surface. And yet, the market continues its performance - nervous, uneven, but not yet ready to exit stage left.

On Tuesday morning, the mood was distinctly autumnal. The culprit, once again, was uncertainty. Futures sagged - blame it on the deteriorating fiscal situation - the $36 trillion elephant in the room. Moody’s has taken away the government's Aaa pacifier, and the bond market is still teething. Investors, it seems, are beginning to reacquaint themselves with caution.

And still, life in the markets goes on - if with a slight limp. UnitedHealth gained. Nvidia dipped. Home Depot floated upward on a 3% lift after beating expectations in the quarter, a faint cheer for anyone who hoped that Americans, in a moment of collective therapy, would start sanding decks and replacing faucets instead of fleeing to Florida or buying meme stocks. Yet that optimism is brittle. Home Depot’s numbers are not a harbinger of renewed consumer fervor but rather a holdover of deferred projects and pandemic-era excess.

The most theatrical drama unfolded far from Wall Street, in Hong Kong, where Chinese battery juggernaut CATL made a muscular debut, up 17% and newly garlanded with the title of “year’s biggest equity offering.”

The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, continues its modern role as both oracle and scapegoat. A parade of its officials was scheduled to speak Tuesday - seven voices from a choir that rarely sings in tune. The market will hang on their every note, parsing phrases like "neutral policy stance" or "inflation expectations" with the obsessiveness of Talmudic scholars.

Volatility is rife in this climate of uncertainty. Yesterday, American indices brush off gloomy headlines with ease, while European bourses are enjoying a robust run - and in some cases, outpacing their transatlantic peers. Germany's DAX notched a fresh record high yesterday and is up more than 20% in 2025, making it the best-performing major index this year.

The outspoken CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, warned yesterday of the complacency on Wall Street regarding the economic outlook. But what could derail investors' confidence? There are two fairly consensual answers. The first is macroeconomic indicators showing a deterioration in the situation linked to tariffs.

Admittedly, the world has emerged from the excessive escalation of early April, but most trade is more heavily taxed than it was at the beginning of the year. At some point, this will have an impact somewhere. The second source of doubt stems from US debt. We saw an example of this with Moody's downgrade of the US credit rating, which reawakened some old demons. The problems facing the US administration seem difficult to resolve:

how can it reconcile a spiraling budget deficit, huge debt, high interest rates and generous fiscal policy? The White House hopes that cuts in federal spending and additional customs duties will eventually turn the tide. But the amounts being discussed are far from sufficient to meet the challenges. The third risk looming on the horizon is a widespread fear that professionals mention very regularly. This is a major event in the world of US shadow banking, which would cause this segment of the market to collapse. More specifically, in the private credit sector, i.e. players such as hedge funds, private equity and securitization vehicles, which perform financing functions in place of traditional banks without being subject to the same regulatory constraints.

This is a very large market that flies under the radar. In the latest monthly survey conducted by Bank of America among large fund managers, shadow banking is cited as the second most likely trigger for a crisis, behind the trade war but ahead of US debt. That shows how important it is. I am tempted to say that it occupies the collective imagination of professionals, since so far nothing has gone wrong in this area, or at least nothing that has entered the media spotlight. In this sector, as in others, people prefer to wash their dirty linen in private to avoid contamination. To be complete, behind the three major risks mentioned above, we find US commercial real estate, the bursting of the AI bubble and Chinese real estate, but very, very far behind.



In Asia-Pacific, the People's Bank of China and the Reserve Bank of Australia cut rates by 10 and 25 basis points, respectively. The moves were widely expected, but they underscore a broader reality: unlike its peers, the Federal Reserve lacks the latitude to loosen.

Today's economic highlights:
Today: the Producer Price Index (PPI) and existing home sales in the United States; the industrial production report in Germany. See the full calendar here.

• Dollar index: 100,400
• Gold: $3,239
• Crude Oil (BRENT): $65.26 (WTI) $61.95
• United States 10 years: 4.45%
• BITCOIN: US$104,690

n corporate news:

• JPMorgan Chase anticipates increased charge-offs in its card portfolio by 2026, with its CEO warning against complacency in credit risk management.
• FedEx has appointed insider John Smith as CEO and Chairman of the newly independent FedEx Freight following its spinoff.
• General Motors has halted vehicle exports to China amid regulatory and market challenges.
• Moody's downgrades the credit ratings of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo following the downgrade of the US credit rating.
• Regeneron acquires bankrupt 23andMe and pledges to use its customers' DNA data ethically.
• Pfizer enters into an exclusive licensing agreement with 3SBio.
• Delta Air Lines can sue CrowdStrike for a computer failure that led to the cancellation of 7,000 flights.
• American Water to acquire Nexus Water Group Systems in eight states
• 
  
• Analyst Recommendations:
  
  • Aes Corporation (The): Jefferies downgrades to underperform from hold with a target price reduced from USD 10 to USD 9.
  • Air Lease Corporation: Citi upgrades to buy from neutral with a price target raised from USD 45 to USD 68.
  • Ati Inc.: KeyBanc Capital Markets downgrades to sector weight from overweight.
  • Blue Owl Capital Inc.: Keefe Bruyette & Woods upgrades to outperform from market perform with a price target raised from USD 20 to USD 23.
  • Celanese Corporation: BMO Capital Markets upgrades to market perform from underperform and raises the target price from USD 46 to USD 55.
  • Kinetik Holdings Inc.: Citi upgrades to buy from neutral with a price target reduced from USD 58 to USD 55.
  • Nutanix, Inc.: Raymond James downgrades to market perform from outperform.
  • Onto Innovation Inc.: Jefferies downgrades to hold from buy with a target price reduced from USD 135 to USD 110.
  • Txnm Energy, Inc.: Mizuho Securities downgrades to neutral from outperform with a price target raised from USD 56 to USD 61.25.
  • Westlake: Wells Fargo downgrades to equalweight from overweight with a target price reduced from USD 95 to USD 76.
  • Applovin: Daiwa Securities maintains its outperform recommendation and reduces the target price from 550 to USD 405.
  • Doximity, Inc.: Baird maintains its outperform recommendation and reduces the target price from USD 87 to USD 65.
  • Hewlett Packard Enterprise: Morgan Stanley maintains its market weight recommendation and raises the target price from 14 to USD 22.
  • Metlife, Inc.: BMO Capital Markets maintains its market perform recommendation and raises the target price from 73 to USD 90.
  • Micron Technology, Inc.: Guotai Haitong Securities maintains its overweight recommendation and reduces the target price from 162 to USD 125.
  • Netapp, Inc.: Morgan Stanley maintains its market weight recommendation and raises the target price from 84 to USD 106.
  • Pure Storage, Inc.: Morgan Stanley maintains its market weight recommendation and raises the target price from 40 to USD 62.
  • Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc.: JP Morgan maintains its overweight recommendation and reduces the target price from 169 to USD 84.
  • The Mosaic Company: BNP Paribas Exane maintains its outperform recommendation and raises the target price from USD 35 to USD 43.
  • UnitedHealth Group Inc.: Wolfe Research maintains its outperform recommendation and reduces the target price from USD 501 to USD 390.

 

[bigdog]

US stocks sink as S&P 500 falls to its first loss in 7 days

U.S. stocks fell as momentum slowed for Wall Street after it rallied from a deep hole nearly all the way back to its all-time high set earlier this year.

apnews.com

US stocks sink as S&P 500 falls to its first loss in 7 days​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 6:48 AM GMT+10, May 21, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes fell on Tuesday, as momentum slowed for Wall Street after it rallied from a deep hole nearly all the way back to its all-time high set earlier this year.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4% for its first drop in seven days, but it’s still within 3.3% of its record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 114 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.4%.

Treasury yields and the value of the U.S. dollar held relatively stable following a brief jolt Monday morning after Moody’s Ratings said the U.S. government no longer deserves a top-tier credit rating because of worries about its spiraling debt.

Several of the U.S. stock market’s worst losses came from companies in the travel industry, as doubts continue about how much U.S. households will be able to spend on vacations.

Airbnb dropped 3.3%, Norwegian Cruise Line fell 3.9% and United Airlines lost 2.9%. Viking Holdings fell 5% even though the company, which offers river cruises and other trips, reported stronger results than analysts expected for the latest quarter.

Home Depot slipped 0.6% after reporting a profit for the start of the year that came up just short of analysts’ expectations, though its revenue topped forecasts. The home-improvement retailer also said it’s sticking with its forecasts for profit and sales growth over the full year.

That’s counter to a growing number of companies, which have recently said tariffs and uncertainty about the economy are making it difficult to guess what the upcoming year will bring.

President Donald Trump has launched stiff tariffs against trading partners, only to delay or roll many of them back. Investors are hopeful that Trump will eventually lower his tariffs after reaching trade deals with other countries, but that’s not a certainty.

Target and Home Depot rival Lowe’s will report their latest results on Wednesday.

On the winning side of Wall Street was D-Wave Quantum, which jumped 25.9% after releasing its latest quantum computing system. The company says it can solve complex problems beyond the reach of classical computers.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 23.14 points to 5,940.46. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 114.83 to 42,677.24, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 72.75 to 19,142.71.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 4.47% from 4.46% late Monday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for action by the Federal Reserve, edged down to 3.96% from 3.97%.

Concern still remains that Trump’s tariffs could push the U.S. economy into a recession, even if it’s held up OK for the time being. If a recession were to hit, the U.S. government may have less room to offer support for the economy through big spending plans or direct stimulus checks to households than in prior downturns. That’s because the U.S. government’s debt is so much higher now, and it could be set to get even bigger with Washington debating more cuts to taxes.

If the U.S. government can’t offer as much fiscal support for the economy, that could make the next recession deeper and last longer, according to James Egelhof, chief U.S. economist and other strategists at BNP Paribas. That could put more pressure on the Federal Reserve to prop up the economy by itself through lower interest rates.

Other central banks around the world have already begun cutting interest rates.

China’s central bank made its first cut to its loan prime rates in seven months in a move welcomed by investors eager for more stimulus as the world’s second-largest economy feels the pinch of Trump’s higher tariffs. Tuesday’s cuts probably won’t be the last this year, Zichun Huang of Capital Economics said in a report.

The Reserve Bank of Australia reduced its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of percentage point for a second time this year, to 3.85%, judging inflation to be within its target range. The earlier reduction, in February, was Australia’s first rate cut since October 2020.

Following the cuts, stock indexes rose across much of the world. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.5% for one of the bigger gains.

Shares in China’s CATL, the world’s largest maker of electric batteries, jumped 16.4% in its Hong Kong trading debut after it raised about $4.6 billion in the world’s largest IPO this year. Its shares traded in Shenzhen, mainland China’s smaller stock market after Shanghai, gained 1.2% after dipping earlier in the day.

ASX 200 expected to rise again​

The Australian share market looks set to rise again on Wednesday despite a poor night of trade on Wall Street.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 52 points or 0.65% higher this morning.
.
US stocks sink as S&P 500 falls to its first loss in 7 days

U.S. stock indexes fell on Tuesday, as momentum slowed for Wall Street after it rallied from a deep hole nearly all the way back to its all-time high set earlier this year.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4% for its first drop in seven days, but it’s still within 3.3% of its record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 114 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.4%.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 23.14 points to 5,940.46. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 114.83 to 42,677.24, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 72.75 to 19,142.71.

 

[bigdog]

Wall Street tumbles under the weight of rising Treasury yields and US debt worries

Wall Street slumped under the weight of pressure from the bond market, where Treasury yields climbed on worries about the U.S. government’s spiraling debt and other concerns.

apnews.com

Wall Street tumbles under the weight of rising Treasury yields and US debt worries​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 6:50 AM GMT+10, May 22, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street slumped on Wednesday under the weight of pressure from the bond market, where Treasury yields climbed on worries about the U.S. government’s spiraling debt and other concerns.

The S&P 500 fell 1.6% for a second straight drop after breaking a six-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 816 points, or 1.9%, while the Nasdaq composite sank 1.4%.

Stocks had been drifting only modestly lower early in the day, after Target and other retailers gave mixed forecasts for upcoming profits amid uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s trade war. The market then turned sharply lower after the U.S. government released the results for its latest auction of 20-year bonds.

The government regularly sells such bonds, which is how it borrows money to pay its bills. In this auction, the U.S. government had to pay a yield as high as 5.047% to attract enough buyers to lend it a total of $16 billion over 20 years.

That helped push up yields for all kinds of other Treasurys, including the more widely followed 10-year Treasury. Its yield climbed to 4.59% from 4.48% late Tuesday and from just 4.01% early last month. That’s a notable move in the bond market.

“Bonds finally appear to be getting equities’ attention,” according to Jonathan Krinsky, chief market technician at BTIG, pointing in particular to the 30-year Treasury yield, which jumped back above 5% and approached its highest level since 2023.

Treasury yields have been on the rise in part because of concerns that tax cuts currently under consideration in Washington could pile trillions of more dollars onto the U.S. government’s debt. Concerns are also still brewing about how much Trump’s tariffs will push up on inflation in the United States.

The U.S. government’s bonds aren’t alone, and yields have been on the rise recently for developed economies around the world. That’s partly because their governments are continuing to borrow more cash to pay their bills, while central banks like the Federal Reserve have cut back on their own holdings of government bonds.

When the U.S. government has to pay more interest to borrow money, that can cause interest rates to rise for U.S. households and businesses too, including for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. That in turn can slow the economy. Higher yields can also make investors less inclined to pay high prices for stocks and other kinds of investments.

Moody’s Ratings became the last of the three major ratings agencies late last week to downgrade the U.S. government’s credit rating on concerns that it may be heading toward an unsustainable amount of debt.

“We do not think that the downgrade matters by itself,” Bank of America strategists wrote in a BofA Global Research report, “but it has served as a wake up call for those investors who had been ignoring the ongoing fiscal discussion.”

On Wall Street, Target sank 5.2% after the retailer reported weaker profit and revenue than analysts expected for the start of the year.

The company said it felt some pain from boycotts by customers. It scaled back many diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives early this year following criticism by the White House and conservative activists, which drew its own backlash. Perhaps more worryingly for Wall Street, Target also cut its forecast for profit over the full year.

Carter’s, which sells apparel for babies and young children, sank 12.6% after cutting its dividend.

CEO Doug Palladini said the company made the move in part because of investments it anticipates making in upcoming years, as well as the possibility that it “may incur significantly higher product costs as the result of the new proposed tariffs on products imported into the United States.”

All told, the S&P 500 fell 95.85 points to 5,844.61. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 816.80 to 41,860.44, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 270.07 to 18,872.64.

A growing number of companies have recently said tariffs and uncertainty about the economy are making it difficult to guess what the upcoming year will bring. Others, including Walmart, have said they’ll have to raise prices to offset Trump’s tariffs.

U.S. stocks had recently recovered most of their steep losses from earlier in the year after Trump delayed or rolled back many of his stiff tariffs. Investors are hopeful that Trump will lower his tariffs more permanently after reaching trade deals with other countries.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed amid mostly modest movements across Europe and Asia

London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1% after a report said inflation in the United Kingdom spiked to its highest level for more than a year in April. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.6% after a report said Japan’s exports have slowed due to tariffs

ASX 200 expected to sink​

The Australian share market looks set to fall on Thursday following a selloff on Wall Street.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 82 points or 0.95% lower this morning.
.
Wall Street tumbles under the weight of rising Treasury yields and US debt worries

Wall Street slumped on Wednesday under the weight of pressure from the bond market, where Treasury yields climbed on worries about the U.S. government’s spiraling debt and other concerns.

The S&P 500 fell 1.6% for a second straight drop after breaking a six-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 816 points, or 1.9%, while the Nasdaq composite sank 1.4%.

Stocks had been drifting only modestly lower early in the day, after Target and other retailers gave mixed forecasts for upcoming profits amid uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s trade war. The market then turned sharply lower after the U.S. government released the results for its latest auction of 20-year bonds.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 95.85 points to 5,844.61. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 816.80 to 41,860.44, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 270.07 to 18,872.64.

 

[bigdog]

Stocks drift to a mixed close as worries about the US government's soaring debt continue to weigh

Stocks drifted to a mixed close on Wall Street in what has been a rocky week because of worries coming out of the bond market about the U.S. government’s mounting debt.

apnews.com

Stocks drift to a mixed close as worries about the US government’s soaring debt continue to weigh​

By DAMIAN J. TROISE
Updated 7:09 AM GMT+10, May 23, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks drifted to a mixed close on Wall Street Thursday in what has been a rocky week so far because of worries coming out of the bond market about the U.S. government’s mounting debt.

Trading remained choppy throughout most of the day following Wednesday’s big slump for the S&P 500. That loss has put the benchmark index on track for its worst week in the last seven.

The S&P 500 slipped 2.60 points, or less than 0.1%, to close at 5,842.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.35 points, or less than 0.1%, to 41,859.09. The Nasdaq composite rose 53.09 points, or 0.3% to 18,925.73.

Technology stocks did most of the heavy lifting for the broader market. The majority of stocks within the S&P 500 lost ground, but gains for technology companies with outsized values offset those losses. Google’s parent Alphabet jumped 1.4% and Nvidia rose 0.8%.

The choppy trading this week and sharp decline for stocks on Wednesday follows several weeks of mostly gains that have brought the S&P 500 back within 5% of its all-time high.

U.S. stocks are drifting Thursday over worries from the bond market about the U.S. government’s debt. We hear from AP business correspondent Seth Sutel.

“We’ve had a good bounce here, but the market is looking for some excuse to take some money off the table,” said Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

Treasury yields held a bit steadier in the bond market, but only after oscillating earlier in the morning after the House of Representatives approved a bill that would cut taxes and could add trillions of dollars to the U.S. debt. The bond market has been the epicenter of Wall Street’s action this week. Yields have been broadly on the rise in part because of worries about the U.S. government’s spiraling debt.

Besides making it more expensive for the U.S. government to borrow to pay its bills, higher Treasury yields can also filter into the rest of the economy and make it tougher for U.S. households and businesses to get their own loans. Higher yields also discourage investors from paying high prices for stocks and other investments.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed as high as 4.63% before the U.S. stock market opened for trading, before receding to 4.54%. It stood at 4.58% late Wednesday and was as low as 4.01% early last month. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for action by the Federal Reserve, slipped to 3.99% from 4.02% late Wednesday.

The House’s multitrillion-dollar spending bill, which aims to extend some $4.5 trillion in tax breaks from President Donald Trump’s first term while adding others, is expected to undergo some changes when it gets to the Senate for a vote.

The legislation also includes a speedier rollback of production tax credits for clean electricity projects, which sent shares of solar companies tumbling. Sunrun dropped 37.1%, Enphase Energy fell 19.6% and First Solar slid 4.3%.

Health care stocks also fell Thursday after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it was immediately expanding its auditing of Medicare Advantage plans. UnitedHealth Group fell 2.1% and Humana lost 7.6%.

Wall Street had several economic updates on Thursday.

The number of Americans filing unemployment claims last week fell slightly. The broader employment market has remained strong, though businesses remain worried about the economic uncertainty amid a trade war.

The market had briefly turned higher earlier in the day following a better-than-expected report on manufacturing and services in the U.S. The survey from S&P Global showed growth for both areas in May following a sluggish April.

“Business confidence has improved in May from the worrying slump seen in April, with gloom about prospects for the year ahead lifting somewhat thanks largely to the pause on higher rate tariffs,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The report also reflected the impact of the trade war on supply chains, prices and concerns about the economic picture moving forward. New orders from businesses were the big driver for the improvement, but much of that was from businesses trying to get ahead of a potentially hefty round of tariffs that could hit the economy in July.

“Concerns over tariff-related supply shortages and price rises led to the largest accumulation of input inventories recorded since survey data were first available 18 years ago,” Williamson said.

A 90-day pause on some of President Donald Trump’s heftiest tariffs helped give some businesses and consumers some relief. They are already contending with broad tariffs and their impact on prices for a wide range of goods coming from trading partners around the world, including China, Canada and Mexico.

The overall rise in prices charged for goods and services in May was the steepest since August 2022, according to the S&P Global report.

Businesses have been warning investors about higher costs because of tariffs, prompting many to trim or pull financial forecasts. Many of them, including retail giant Walmart, have also warned consumers that they are raising prices on a wide range of goods because of higher import taxes.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across Europe and Asia. France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.6%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.2% and South Korea’s Kospi slid 1.2% for some of the sharper losses.

ASX 200 expected to rebound​

The Australian share market looks set to rebound on Friday following a mixed night in the United States.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 22 points or 0.3% higher this morning.
.
Stocks drift to a mixed close as worries about the US government’s soaring debt continue to weigh
Stocks drifted to a mixed close on Wall Street Thursday in what has been a rocky week so far because of worries coming out of the bond market about the U.S. government’s mounting debt.

Trading remained choppy throughout most of the day following Wednesday’s big slump for the S&P 500. That loss has put the benchmark index on track for its worst week in the last seven.

The S&P 500 slipped 2.60 points, or less than 0.1%, to close at 5,842.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.35 points, or less than 0.1%, to 41,859.09. The Nasdaq composite rose 53.09 points, or 0.3% to 18,925.73.

ALMOST ALL RED DAY BELOW

 

[bigdog]

Trump's latest tariff threats knock Wall Street, European stocks and Apple lower

U.S. stocks fell after President Donald Trump threatened 50% tariffs on the European Union that could begin in a little more than a week.

apnews.com

Trump’s latest tariff threats knock Wall Street, European stocks and Apple lower​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 7:14 AM GMT+10, May 24, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks fell Friday after President Donald Trump threatened 50% tariffs on the European Union that could begin in a little more than a week.

The S&P 500 lost 0.7% to close out its worst week in the last seven. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 256 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1%.

Trump threatened the tariffs before the U.S. stock market opened, saying on his Truth Social platform that trade talks with the European Union “were going nowhere” and that “straight 50%” tariffs could go into effect on June 1. The European Union is one of the United States’ largest trading partners.

Stocks fell immediately afterward in Europe, with France’s CAC 40 index losing 1.7%. The U.S. market also took a quick turn lower, and futures for U.S. stock indexes tumbled after earlier suggesting only modest moves at the open of trading.

The S&P 500 lost as much as 1.3% shortly after trading began, but it pared its loss as traders weighed whether Trump’s latest threats were just negotiating tactics aimed in hopes of getting a deal or something more.

Apple dropped 3% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 after Trump went after the company specifically. He said he’s been pushing Apple CEO Tim Cook to move production of iPhones to the United States, and he warned a tariff “of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.” if it doesn’t.

Trump later clarified his post to say that all smart phones made abroad would be taxed and the tariffs could be coming as soon as the end of June.

“It would be also Samsung and anybody that makes that product,” Trump said. “Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair.”

Trump has been criticizing companies individually when he’s frustrated with how they’re acting because of his tariffs and because of the uncertainty his trade war has created. He earlier told Walmart it should “eat the tariffs,” along with China, after the retailer said it would likely have to raise prices to cover the increased cost of imports.

Deckers Outdoor, the company behind the Hoka and Uggs brands, became one of the latest companies to say all the uncertainty around the economy means it won’t offer financial forecasts for the full upcoming year. Instead, it gave forecasts only for the upcoming quarter, and they fell short of analysts’ expectations for revenue and profit.

That sent its stock down 19.9%, even though the company reported a stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected.

Ross Stores fell 9.8% after it pulled its financial forecasts for the full year, citing how more than half the goods it sells originate in China. “As such, we expect pressure on our profitability if tariffs remain at elevated levels,” CEO Jim Conroy said.

The off-price retailer gave a forecast for profit in the current quarter that included a hit taken from tariffs, and it fell short of analysts’ expectations. That dragged its stock down even though the company also reported a better profit for the latest quarter than expected.

On the winning side of Wall Street was Intuit, which rose 8.1% after the company behind TurboTax and Credit Karma reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Perhaps more importantly, Intuit also raised its forecasts for revenue and profit over its full fiscal year.

Stocks in the nuclear industry also rallied after Trump signed executive orders to speed up nuclear licensing decisions, among other measures meant to charge up the industry. Oklo, which is developing fast fission power plants, jumped 23%.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 39.19 points to 5,802.82. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 256.02 to 41,603.07, and the Nasdaq composite sank 188.53 to 18,737.21.

Trump’s latest tariff threats stirred up Wall Street after it had recovered most of the losses it had earlier taken because of the trade war. The S&P 500 dropped roughly 20% below its record at one point last month, when worries were at their height about whether Trump’s stiff tariffs would cause a global recession. The index then climbed back within 3% of its all-time high after Trump paused his tariffs on many countries, most notably China.

In the bond market, Treasury yields fell after swinging back and forth a few times. The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.51% from 4.54% late Thursday.

It had been running higher earlier in the week, in part on worries about how Washington’s efforts to cut taxes could add trillions of dollars to the U.S. government’s debt.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Asia, where markets closed before Trump issued his latest tariff threats. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.5%, while stocks fell 0.9% in Shanghai.


BITCOIN $AUD

 

[divs4ever]

Trump’s latest tariff threats

or Lindsay Graham's ??

RINO Lindsay seems to have found Hunter's stash

Trump's tariff 'negotiating ' ( bluff ) only works if they are believable and enforceable

Lindsay has created a credibility gap in that strategy

the US will either become almost totally isolationist ( and self-reliant ) or a failing super power under Lindsay's rantings

and Putin/Xi will have their Bi-Polar world dream granted

 

[bigdog]

ASX 200 expected to fall​

The Australian share market looks set for a subdued start following a poor finish to the week on Wall Street on Friday.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 30 points or 0.35% lower.
.
Trump’s latest tariff threats knock Wall Street, European stocks and Apple lower

U.S. stocks fell Friday after President Donald Trump threatened 50% tariffs on the European Union that could begin in a little more than a week.

The S&P 500 lost 0.7% to close out its worst week in the last seven. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 256 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1%.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 39.19 points to 5,802.82. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 256.02 to 41,603.07, and the Nasdaq composite sank 188.53 to 18,737.21.

 

[bigdog]

NYSE closed for Memorial Day: Monday, May 26

European shares gain after Trump pushes back planned 50% tariffs on EU

European shares closed higher and U.S. futures surged after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would delay a threatened 50% tariff on goods from the European Union to July 9.

apnews.com

European shares gain after Trump pushes back planned 50% tariffs on EU​

By JIANG JUNZHE
Updated 8:34 AM GMT+10, May 27, 2025

HONG KONG (AP) — European shares closed higher and U.S. futures surged Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would delay a threatened 50% tariff on goods from the European Union to July 9.

Trump announced the decision to push back the higher import duties after a call Sunday with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, who said she “wants to get down to serious negotiations,” according to the U.S. president’s retelling.

On Monday, the European Union’s chief trade negotiator said he had “good calls” with Trump administration officials and that the EU was “fully committed” to reaching a trade deal by the July 9 deadline.

Just last week, Trump had said on social media that trade talks with the European Union “were going nowhere” and that “straight 50%” tariffs could go into effect on June 1.

Markets welcomed the news.

The future for the S&P 500 gained 1.3%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1%. The future for the Nasdaq composite rose 1.4%.

Germany’s DAX added 1.5% to 23,977.83 and the CAC 40 in Paris rose 1% to 7,810.49.

Markets were closed in Britain for a holiday.
In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1% to 37,531.53, while the Kospi in Seoul picked up 2% to 2,644.40.

But most other regional markets declined.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.4% to 23,282.33 and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.1% to 3,346.84.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was nearly unchanged at 8,361.00.

Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.5% and the Sensex in India gained 0.5%.

On Friday, U.S. stocks fell as traders weighed whether Trump’s latest threats were just negotiating tactics.

The S&P 500 lost 0.7% to end its worst week in the last seven. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6% and the Nasdaq composite sank 1%.

Apple dropped 3% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 after Trump said he’s been pushing Apple CEO Tim Cook to move production of iPhones to the United States. He warned a tariff “of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.” if it doesn’t.

Trump later clarified his post to say that all smartphones made abroad would be taxed and the tariffs could be coming as soon as the end of June.

“It would be also Samsung and anybody that makes that product,” Trump said. “Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair.”

Trump has been criticizing companies individually when he’s frustrated with how they’re acting because of his tariffs and because of the uncertainty his trade war has created. He earlier told Walmart it should “eat the tariffs,” along with China, after the retailer said it would likely have to raise prices to cover the increased cost of imports.

Deckers Outdoor, the company behind the Hoka and Uggs brands, became one of the latest companies to say all the uncertainty around the economy means it won’t offer financial forecasts for the full upcoming year.

Its stock shed 19.9%, even though the company reported a stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected.

Ross Stores fell 9.8% after it pulled its financial forecasts for the full year, citing how more than half the goods it sells originate in China.

On the winning side of Wall Street was Intuit, which rose 8.1% after the company behind TurboTax and Credit Karma reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Stocks in the nuclear industry also rallied after Trump signed executive orders to speed up nuclear licensing decisions, among other measures meant to charge up the industry. Oklo, which is developing fast fission power plants, jumped 23%.

Trump’s latest tariff threats stirred up Wall Street after it had recovered most of the losses it had earlier taken because of the trade war. The S&P 500 dropped roughly 20% below its record at one point last month, when worries were at their height about whether Trump’s stiff tariffs would cause a global recession. The index then climbed back within 3% of its all-time high after Trump paused his tariffs on many countries, most notably China.

In other trading Monday, Brent crude, the international standard, fell 4 cents to $64.74 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar advanced to 142.81 Japanese yen from 142.48 yen. The euro edged higher, to $1.1388 from $1.1367.

ASX 200 expected to rise again​

The Australian share market is expected to rise on Tuesday after Donald Trump delayed putting tariffs on the EU.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 20 points or 0.25% higher.

Wall Street was closed for a public holiday. However, Dow Jones futures are up 1.1%, S&P 500 futures are up 1.3%, and Nasdaq futures are up 1.5%. This suggests that a good session awaits investors in the US tonight.
.
European shares closed higher and U.S. futures surged Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would delay a threatened 50% tariff on goods from the European Union to July 9.

Trump announced the decision to push back the higher import duties after a call Sunday with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, who said she “wants to get down to serious negotiations,” according to the U.S. president’s retelling.

​

NYSE closed for Memorial Day: Monday, May 26

REST of WORLD

 

[bigdog]

S&P 500 rallies 2% as Wall Street's roller-coaster ride whips back upward

Wall Street rallied after President Donald Trump delayed a 50% tariff on goods coming from the European Union. The S&P 500 jumped 2% Tuesday.

apnews.com

S&P 500 rallies 2% as Wall Street’s roller-coaster ride whips back upward​

By STAN CHOE
Updated 7:09 AM GMT+10, May 28, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street’s roller-coaster ride created by President Donald Trump’s trade policies whipped back upward on Tuesday, this time because of a delay for his tariffs on the European Union.

The S&P 500 leaped 2% in its first trading since Trump said Sunday that the United States will delay a 50% tariff on goods coming from the European Union until July 9 from June 1. The European Union’s chief trade negotiator later said on Monday that he had “good calls” with Trump officials and the EU was “fully committed” to reaching a trade deal by July 9.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 740 points, or 1.8%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 2.5%. They more than recovered their losses from Friday, when Wall Street’s roller coaster dropped after Trump announced the tariffs on France, Germany and the other 25 countries represented by the European Union.

Such talks give hopes that the United States can reach a deal with one of its largest trading partners that would keep global commerce moving and avoid a possible recession. Trump declared a similar pause on his stiff tariffs for products coming from China earlier this month, which launched an even bigger rally on Wall Street at the time.

“We focus on actions over words,” Jean Boivin and other strategists at BlackRock Investment Institute said, “as economic constraints spur policy rollbacks.”

Caution still remains on Wall Street, of course, even if the S&P 500 has climbed back within 3.6% of its record after falling roughly 20% below the mark last month.

A worry is that all the uncertainty caused by on-again-off-again tariffs could damage the economy by pushing U.S. households and businesses to freeze their spending and investments. Surveys have already shown U.S. consumers are feeling worse about the economy’s prospects and where inflation may be heading because of tariffs.

On Tuesday, though, optimism ruled. The stock market’s gains accelerated after a report released by the Conference Board said confidence among U.S. consumers improved by more in May than economists expected.

It was the first increase in six months, and consumers’ expectations for income, business and the job market in the short term jumped sharply, though it still remains below the level that typically signals a recession ahead. About half the survey results came after Trump paused some of his tariffs on China.

The rise in confidence was widespread, covering different age and income groups, according to the Conference Board.

On Wall Street, Nvidia rallied 3.2% and was the strongest single force driving the S&P 500 higher ahead of its profit report coming on Wednesday. It’s the last to report this quarter among the “Magnificent Seven” Big Tech companies that have grown so large that their stock movements dominate the rest of the market.

Nvidia has been riding a tidal wave of growth created by the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology, but it is also facing criticism that its stock price has shot too high.

Informatica climbed 6% after Salesforce said it would buy the AI-powered cloud data management company in an all-stock deal valuing it at about $8 billion. Salesforce rose 1.5%.

They were part of widespread gains across the U.S. stock market, where 93% of the stocks within the S&P 500 rose.

One of the outliers was AutoZone, which fell 3.7% following a mixed report on its performance for the three months through May 10. Its profit fell short of analysts’ expectations, though its growth in revenue was stronger than expected.

CEO Phil Daniele said both its DIY and commercial businesses did well domestically, but shifting moves in foreign-currency values put pressure on the retailer’s operations outside the United States.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 118.72 points to 5,921.54. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 740.58 to 42,343.65, and the Nasdaq composite gained 461.96 to 19,199.16.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased to take some of the pressure off the stock market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.44% from 4.51% late Friday. It had been rising last week, in part because of worries about the U.S. government’s rapidly increasing debt.

Yields had been climbing for bond markets around the developed world, particularly in Japan, where a recent auction of longer-term bonds found relatively few buyers. But analysts said worries eased a bit after Japan’s finance ministry sent a questionnaire to bond investors that they took as a signal of efforts to calm the market.

In stock markets abroad, European indexes mostly rose, while Asian indexes were mixed.

ASX 200 expected to rise again​

The Australian share market looks set to rise again on Wednesday following a strong night of trade on Wall Street.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 51 points or 0.6% higher this morning.
.
Wall Street’s roller-coaster ride created by President Donald Trump’s trade policies whipped back upward on Tuesday, this time because of a delay for his tariffs on the European Union.

The S&P 500 leaped 2% in its first trading since Trump said Sunday that the United States will delay a 50% tariff on goods coming from the European Union until July 9 from June 1. The European Union’s chief trade negotiator later said on Monday that he had “good calls” with Trump officials and the EU was “fully committed” to reaching a trade deal by July 9.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 740 points, or 1.8%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 2.5%. They more than recovered their losses from Friday, when Wall Street’s roller coaster dropped after Trump announced the tariffs on France, Germany and the other 25 countries represented by the European Union