FX.co ★ US Equities Inch Higher on US-China Trade Talks

U.S. stocks experienced a slight uptick on Monday amidst the initiation of critical trade negotiations between the United States and China in London, reviving hopes for a potential resolution on tariffs. The S&P 500 saw an increase of 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by over 100 points, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed by 0.4%. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, alongside other senior U.S. officials, engaged with their Chinese counterparts to discuss rare earth shipments and the possible relaxation of export restrictions. This meeting followed a recent telephone conversation between Presidents Trump and Xi. The anticipation of a positive outcome in these trade discussions buoyed market sentiment, with notable gains in the materials, energy, and consumer discretionary sectors, although financial stocks lagged. In corporate news, Apple shares dipped by 1% during its Worldwide Developers Conference, while Qualcomm surged over 4% following its announcement of a $2.4 billion acquisition of Alphawave. Nvidia, Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet also saw their stock prices rise, increasing by 0.6%, 1.6%, 0.5%, and 1.5% respectively. Despite downgrades from Argus Research and Baird, Tesla managed to reverse earlier losses, closing 1% higher.