Shares of Tesla tumbled more the 5% overnight after the war of words between billionaire Elon Musk Trump over the big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts heated up again. Musk said he's considering forming a new political party, while Trump blasted the Tesla CEO over electric vehicle subsidies.
Trump's pullback and pauses on many of his tariffs have helped U.S. stocks make a stunning recovery from a tariff-induced slide this spring, however the dollar is still slumping.
The dollar dipped to 142.74 Japanese yen from 144.04 yen early Tuesday and is down more than 9% so far this year.
Economists are waiting for a slew of economic data this week, including three separate reports on the labor market.
Investors and analysts will be paying close attention to a panel discussion on European Central Bank policy, where Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will participate. The Fed has kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged so far this year over broad uncertainty about the impact of Trump's tariffs.
Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3% in midday trading in Europe, while Germany’s DAX shed 0.6% and Paris's CAC 40 dropped 0.5%.
In Asian trading, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.2% to 39,986.33 despite positive results of the central bank's quarterly Tankan survey which showed a better than expected improvement in business sentiment among large manufacturers.
The Shanghai Composite index added 0.4% to 3,457.75 after China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers index, or PMI, rose to a three-month high of 49.7 in June while the PMI for services and other nonmanufacturing businesses also rose to a three-month high of 50.5.
Hong Kong's stock market was closed on Tuesday.
South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index rose 0.6% to 3,089.65. The government reported that exports bounced back in June, helped by strong demand for semiconductors, ships and health products.
“Automobile and automotive parts exports also gained. Strong electric vehicle exports to the EU and solid used-car exports partially offset the decline of U.S. exports. However, we expect auto exports to remain soft due to tariffs and increased production in the U.S.,” Min Joo Kang of ING Economics said in a report.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.1% to 8,541.10.
In energy markets, U.S. crude oil lost gained 58 cents to $65.69 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, added 50 cents to $67.24 per barrel.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP