XRP Price Will Hit $25 if ETF Approved, Then Crash 90%, New Analysis Says

Source: Bloomberg

Wall Street's main indexes were mixed on Monday as investors watched a fresh round of U.S.-China negotiations aimed at mending a trade rift that has rattled financial markets for much of the year.

Top officials from both countries have kicked off discussions at London's Lancaster House, looking to address disagreements around a preliminary trade agreement struck last month that had briefly cooled tensions between the world's largest economies.

The meeting, which could run into Tuesday, comes four days after U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke by phone, their first direct interaction since Trump's January 20 inauguration.

The leaders had, however, left key issues unresolved.

"The talks will have to go on for some time before we decide whether or not there's actual progress being made. However, most investors remain hopeful that there will be some positive results," said Peter Andersen, founder at Andersen Capital Management.

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told CNBC in an interview on Monday the U.S. trade negotiators are seeking a handshake in London to seal an agreement struck by Trump and Xi to allow the export of China's rare earth minerals and magnets to the United States.

Hopes of more trade deals between the U.S. and its major trading partners, along with upbeat earnings and tame inflation data, helped U.S. equities rally in May, with the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (.IXIC), opens new tab notching their best monthly gains since November 2023.

The S&P 500 remains a little more than 2% below all-time highs touched in February, while the Nasdaq is about 3% below its record peaks reached in December.

Major data releases this week include readings on May consumer prices and initial jobless claims. While investors widely expect the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged next week, focus will be on any signs of pick-up in inflation as Trump's tariffs risk raising price pressures.

At 10:06 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opens new tab fell 129.75 points, or 0.30%, to 42,633.12, the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab lost 0.32 points, or 0.01%, to 6,000.04 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opens new tab gained 44.81 points, or 0.23%, to 19,574.76.

Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors fell, with healthcare stocks (.SPXHC), opens new tab, down 0.6%, declining the most. On the flip side, information technology stocks (.SPLRCT), opens new tab advanced 0.6%.

Most megacap and growth stocks were mixed. Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab shares edged 0.5% lower after brokerage Baird downgraded the stock to "neutral". Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab gained 1.3%.

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O), opens new tab shares jumped 9.5%, the most on the S&P 500, after the company said it would separate its studios and streaming business from its fading cable television networks.

Robinhood Markets (HOOD.O), opens new tab fell 7.4% after S&P Dow Jones Indices left S&P 500 constituents unchanged in its latest rebalancing, following recent speculation that the online brokerage would be added to the benchmark index.

Merck (MRK.N), opens new tab rose 1.1% after the drugmaker's oral cholesterol pill succeeded in two late-stage studies.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.65-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.44-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 10 new 52-week highs and one new low while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 63 new highs and 27 new lows.

Source: Reuters

Source: reuters

On the other hand, the EU is not the United Kingdom. Both are at risk from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But the EU trades seven times more goods with the United States than Britaindoes - so Washington has more to lose if economic relations break down.

The EU has so far imposed no countermeasures. Though it has agreed to tax 21 billion euros of U.S. imports in response to the steel and aluminium tariffs, it has delayed these until July 14 to try to get a deal. The European Commission, its executive arm, is also consulting on taxing a further 95 billion euros of U.S. imports in response to the car tariffs and the reciprocal ones. But added together, these tit-for-tat measures would be equivalent to only a third of the 379 billion euros of EU imports subject to Trump’s tariffs.

Source: Reuters

source : kitco

The latest economic data reveals a slight uptick in U.S. Wholesale Inventories, indicating a modest but steady growth in the total value of goods held in inventory by wholesalers. The actual figure came in at 0.2%, surpassing the forecasted stagnation.

The 0.2% increase in Wholesale Inventories, while small, is significant in that it beat the forecasted figure of 0.0%. This suggests that wholesalers are maintaining a higher inventory level than anticipated, which could be interpreted as a positive sign for the U.S. economy. It indicates a level of confidence in the market, as wholesalers are willing to hold onto more stock in anticipation of future sales.

When compared to the previous figure of 0.4%, the current 0.2% does represent a decrease. This indicates that while there has been growth, it is at a slower pace than before. The previous figure’s higher percentage could be attributed to a more robust economic climate at the time, or a higher level of confidence in future market conditions.

However, it is important to note that a higher than expected reading for Wholesale Inventories is typically seen as negative or bearish for the U.S. Dollar. This is because a build-up of inventories can indicate a slowdown in demand, which can negatively impact the economy and, by extension, the value of the currency. Conversely, a lower than expected reading is viewed as positive or bullish for the U.S. Dollar.

In this case, the actual figure of 0.2% is lower than the previous 0.4%, which could be seen as a positive sign for the U.S. Dollar. However, it is higher than the forecasted 0.0%, which could be seen as a negative. As such, the impact on the U.S. Dollar is likely to be mixed.

Overall, the latest Wholesale Inventories data paints a picture of modest growth in the U.S. economy. While the pace of growth may have slowed compared to the previous period, the fact that the actual figure beat forecasts suggests a level of resilience and confidence among wholesalers.

Source: Investing