U.S. President Donald Trump takes part in a press conference on recent Supreme Court rulings in the briefing room at the White House on June 27, 2025, in Washington, DC, U.S.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Something I rarely, if ever, say: What a wonderful Monday morning!
On Friday stateside, the S&P 500 broke its previous record. Celebrations were shared with the Nasdaq Composite, which also hit a new high. The tech-heavy index enjoyed a liftoff from Nvidia and Microsoft, both of which reached all-time highs (and probably made some insiders at Nvidia multi-millionaires over the past month).
Tariff relief buoyed sentiment in markets. China announced it had finalized details of its deal with the United States. And even though U.S. President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs are due to kick in (again) one week later, he suggested that his administration “can do whatever we want” regarding the 90-day pause.
Postponing the return of those tariffs would give investors further cheer and put another feather, perhaps of the chicken variety, in their caps.
That said, as Trump giveth, so does he taketh away.
The S&P 500 was up as much as 0.76% at one point during Friday’s trading session, but stumbled after the U.S. president slammed the door shut on trade talks with Canada over its digital services tax. The index dipped only slightly, but that nonetheless shaved off some gains from what could have been a higher high.
Even though Canada has since rescinded the tax, this episode shows how Trump is still steering markets.
U.S. markets open just as Europe trading begins winding down. May it be in Trump’s nature to be a giver, to borrow Chappell Roan’s words — so Monday can end as well as it began.
What you need to know today
New record for S&P 500. The broad-based index rose 0.52% to close at 6,173.07 Friday, surpassing its previous high of 6,147.43. U.S. futures climbed Sunday evening stateside. On Monday, Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose.
China manufacturing activity contracted in June. Even though the official purchasing managers’ index improved from May’s reading, it’s still below the 50-point mark, making it the third consecutive month of contraction.
Canada walks back on its digital services tax. The country’s decision, released Sunday night local time, follows Trump’s announcement that the U.S. is ending trade discussions because of said tax.
‘Very wealthy people’ ready to buy TikTok. Speaking at a Fox News interview on Sunday, Trump said he can reveal the identities of those individuals in about two weeks, but the deal depends on Beijing’s approval.
[PRO] Eyes on U.S. jobs numbers. June’s nonfarm payrolls report comes out Thursday and could determine if the rally in U.S. markets continues. Investors will only have half a day to react: U.S. markets close early Thursday and are dark Friday.
And finally…
The logo of British oil major BP.
Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
How BP became a potential takeover target
For weeks, market tongues have been wagging about a potential merger between Britain’s oil giants — until, ending weeks of speculation, Shell on Thursday denied reports that it’s in talks to acquire BP.
But how did we get to the point that BP, a U.K. oil exploration company that was founded in 1909 under the name Anglo-Persian Oil Company, is now seen as a possible takeover target for its long-time rival?
— Michael Considine