For the time being, all the uncertainty around tariffs could help keep markets unsteady. This upcoming week has several potential flashpoints that could shake things.
On Tuesday will come the latest reading on inflation across the United States. Economists expect it to show inflation accelerated to 2.6 per cent last month from 2.4 per cent in May.
Companies are also lining up to report how they performed during the spring. JPMorgan Chase and several other huge banks will report their latest quarterly results on Tuesday, followed by Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday and PepsiCo on Thursday.
Fastenal, a distributor of industrial and construction supplies, on Monday reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its stock rose 2.9 per cent, though it also said that market conditions remain sluggish.
Shares of Kenvue rose 2.3 per cent in shaky trading after the former division of Johnson & Johnson said CEO Thibaut Mongon is stepping down. Kenvue, the maker of Listerine and Band-Aid brands, is in the midst of a strategic review of its options, “including ways to simplify the company’s portfolio and how it operates,” according to Larry Merlo, the board’s chair.
Waters slumped 11.9 per cent after saying it had agreed to merge with Becton, Dickinson and Co.’s biosciences and diagnostic solutions business in a deal valued at roughly $US17.5 billion ($26.7 billion).
In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.42 per cent from 4.43 per cent late Friday.
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In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe. Germany’s DAX lost 0.4 per cent, and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.3 per cent. But indexes rose 0.8 per cent in South Korea and 0.3 per cent in Hong Kong.
Chinese shares advanced after the government reported that exports rose last month as a truce in a tariff war prompted a surge in orders ahead of the August 1 deadline for reaching a new trade deal with Washington.
Some of the biggest moves in financial markets were for crypto, where bitcoin continues to set records. It was fetching $US119,797 at 5.16am AEST, according to Bitstamp. This upcoming week is “Crypto Week” in Washington, where Congress will consider several bills to “make America the crypto capital of the world.”
AP
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