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US stocks climbed but pared earlier gains on Monday amid signs of progress in trade talks, setting up the major gauges for more all-time highs to end one of the most volatile first halves of a year in recent memory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose roughly 0.4%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) moved up about 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) jumped about 0.3%. All three indexes had been trading higher earlier in the session.
Stocks started a holiday-shortened week with fresh records in sight, as hopes rise that the US and its top trading partners are closing in on deals over the sweeping tariffs introduced by President Trump.
Canada scrapped a digital services tax targeting US tech companies late on Sunday — just hours before it was set to start collecting payments — in a bid to revive stalled trade negotiations. On Friday, Trump called an abrupt halt to the talks over the tax, describing them as a "blatant attack" on the US.
Despite a temporary turn lower, all three major indexes closed higher on Friday. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite clinched new record highs for the first time since February — the start of the year's tariff-fueled stock swings.
The easing in odds of a global trade war comes as a July 9 deadline looms for the resumption of sweeping US "reciprocal" tariffs, which Trump on Sunday said he didn't think he'd need to extend. So far, his administration has hammered out only two accords — not full-blown agreements — with China and the UK, with the British tariff deal going into effect on Monday.
Trump tariffs: Read the latest here
Meanwhile, market watchers are closely following Senate negotiations over Trump’s proposed $4.5 trillion tax cut bill, as Republican leaders race to persuade party holdouts to back the legislation. The Congressional Budget Office estimates it would add $3.3 trillion to the deficit over a decade, as it stands. The Senate is set to vote on dozens of amendments in a marathon session on Monday.
Looking ahead, the June jobs report on Thursday will be a highlight, as markets increasingly grow optimistic that the Federal Reserve could lower interest rates soon. But the week's trading will be cut short, as markets will close at 1 p.m. on Thursday and remain shut on Friday for the Fourth of July holiday.
LIVE 19 updates
Alphabet downgraded to Neutral by BNB Paribas, citing 'limited' Gemini AI monetization
BNB Paribas downgraded Alphabet stock (GOOGL, GOOG) to Neutral from Buy on Monday.
“Google has come a long way since then in developing its Gemini offering, culminating in the recent successful launch of Gemini 2.5 pro model,” analyst Stefan Slowinski wrote. “However, monetisation of Gemini remains limited for now.”
The analysts wrote that “Alphabet will be an eventual GenAI winner as it has the entire 'stack’” but that they fear “GenAI investments could slow EPS growth.”
Slowinski lowered his price target on the stock to $172 from $213. The stock traded flat on Monday at around $178 per share and is down more than 6% for the year, underperforming its “Magnificent Seven” peers.
Slowinski also wrote: “In addition, business model transition risks may weigh on top line Search Advertising growth as Google sees fewer Search clicks, and explores new monetisation approaches like AI Overviews, AI Mode, Live Search and the Gemini Assistant.”
Meta on pace to close at record high as social media giant leans into AI, outperforms 'Mag 7' stocks
Meta (META) stock was on pace to close at a record high on Monday for the first time since February.
Shares hit an all-time intraday high just north of $748 each.
Meta has outperformed the rest of the "Magnificent Seven" stocks year to date, gaining 26% compared to a 17% increase in AI chip giant Nvidia (NVDA), which is also hovering at record highs.
Meta has been doubling down on AI, recently investing in the startup Scale AI (SCAI.PVT). As part of the deal, Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang will reportedly join Meta’s AI research lab focused on pursuing "superintelligence."
The biggest winners from the crypto industry's triumphant 2025
The first half of 2025 marked a triumphant return of crypto optimism.
From President Trump's crypto-friendly stance and his appointment of a new SEC chair to the first couple's own controversial coins, momentum in the industry returned, helping boost bitcoin to record highs near $112,000.
Yahoo Finance's Ines Ferré reports:
Nvidia remains top pick at Morgan Stanley despite skepticism over supply chain bottlenecks
Morgan Stanley (MS) analysts wrote in a note to clients Sunday that they are bullish on Nvidia (NVDA) stock and "looking through" concerns over bottlenecks in its supply chain that could lead the chipmaker to produce GPUs faster than its suppliers can build them into server racks.
After meeting with industry contacts in Taiwan and Beijing, analyst Joseph Moore wrote that Nvidia's supply chain is "strong near term" but "mixed longer term."
"Near-term data points from several supply chain participants suggest strength in AI, but significant skepticism about 2026 remains," Moore wrote. "That skepticism is driven by the same concerns we hear about from US investors — chip production ahead of various supply bottlenecks will lead to excess inventory by year end."
"The reason we are looking through these concerns is that our contacts point to very strong demand for all Blackwell form factors, and supply bottlenecks across racks and power management easing materially," the analyst added. Moore said Nvidia is his top pick of chip stocks.
The Financial Times reported in late May that Nvidia's suppliers had resolved technical issues that had delayed shipments of its Blackwell AI servers and threatened the chipmaker's annual sales targets.
Nvidia stock last week notched a new record high. Shares fell fractionally Monday morning.
HPE stock rises after settling DOJ antitrust case
Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock (HPE) jumped more than 13% Monday morning following news over the weekend that the company had settled a case with the US Department of Justice.
The DOJ sued HPE — one of the largest makers of wireless networking systems — in January to block the company's proposed $14 billion acquisition of another company in the industry, Juniper Networks (JNPR).
Juniper Networks shares were up 8% early Monday.
The settlement "paves the way to close HPE’s acquisition of Juniper Networks," HPE CEO Antonio Neri said in a statement Saturday.
Juniper has a "strong position" in the artificial intelligence space, Bank of America's Wamsi Mohan wrote in a note to clients Monday. With the acquisition of Juniper, HPE is "positioned to offer an end-to-end networking and AI infrastructure stack that can better compete in AI-enabled datacenter and cloud-edge environment," boosting the company's earnings over the long term.
Stocks open higher with fresh records in sight
Stocks moved higher at the market open Monday to start a holiday-shortened week, set to notch fresh records amid rising hopes for US trade deals ahead of the July 9 deadline.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose roughly 0.5%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) moved up about 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) jumped about 0.4%.
Oracle stock surges after disclosing 'multiple large cloud services agreements,' set to notch new intraday high
Oracle stock soared more than 7% and was set to start the trading session at a new intraday high after the software giant disclosed in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had signed new cloud services agreements.
“Oracle is off to a strong start in FY26," CEO Safra Catz will tell other Oracle colleagues later today, according to the filing. "Our MultiCloud database revenue continues to grow at over 100%, and we signed multiple large cloud services agreements including one that is expected to contribute more than $30 billion in annual revenue starting in FY28."
In its fiscal year 2025, which ended May 31, Oracle's revenue was $57.4 billion. The company partnered with OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) and SoftBank (SFTBY) to launch the highly publicized $500 billion Stargate project, building AI data centers earlier this year, but the project has stalled.
Solar stocks mixed on surprise Senate renewables tax
Solar stocks fluctuated in premarket trading Monday after it emerged that the Senate's draft version of the tax and spending bill, which slashes wind and solar tax credits, also now contains a tax on wind and solar projects completed after 2027 that use components from China.
The tax on renewable projects came as a surprise to the industry, which largely relies on China to source components from batteries to solar panels. A statement from the American Clean Power Association said the effect would be to "strand hundreds of billions of dollars in current investments."
The latest provision comes after solar stocks were hit two weeks ago when lawmakers moved to phase out tax breaks for the industry sooner than expected.
Shares of NextEra Energy (NEE) dropped 4% while Enphase Energy (ENPH) stock fell 2.6%. The Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) declined 1.5%.
However, there were some bright spots for certain renewable stocks. US-based First Solar (FSLR) rose 7%, while GE Vernova (GEV), which offers wind technologies, added 1.1%. And Sunrun (RUN) gained 7% while SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) advanced 0.5% due to a short-term extension of residential solar tax credits.
Trump-fueled bitcoin mania leaves most of crypto in the dust
Several altcoins are faltering this year as bitcoin's share of the crypto market has climbed to 64%, the highest level since January 2021.
Bloomberg reports:
INmune Bio stock crashes 60% after Alzheimer's drug falls short in study
INmune Bio stock (INMB) tanked 60% in premarket trading on Monday after the company said its experimental drug, XPro, failed to improve cognitive functions in patients with early stages of Alzheimer's in a mid-stage study.
The drug is designed to target and inhibit inflammatory signals associated with a type of protein called tumor necrosis factor without suppressing the immune system, Reuters reported.
Disney stock rises after Jefferies upgrade
Disney stock (DIS) rose about 2% in premarket trading Monday after Jefferies analyst James Heaney upgraded the stock. Heaney sees Disney's cruise business, content slate, and parks business fueling a rally in shares over the summer.
Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi writes:
‘Fog in the data’: Soaring stocks face lingering uncertainty in second half
Yahoo Finance's Allie Canal reports:
Good morning. Here's what's happening today.
A crucial jobs report meets a stock market at all-time highs
Yahoo Finance's Josh Schafer lays out what investors should know about the week ahead:
Trending tickers: HPE, Palantir and Juniper
Here are some top stocks trending on Yahoo Finance in premarket trading:
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE) stock rose 6% in premarket trading on Monday following the news that HPE and Juniper Networks have reached an agreement with the US Department of Justice that it will not challenge HPE's acquisition of Juniper.
Palantir (PLTR) stock rose 5% before the bell and are trading at an all-time high, up 90% this year. Yahoo Finance Anchor Julie Hyman recently broke down the stock's history on a episode of Market Domination Overtime:
Juniper Networks, Inc. (JNPR) stock rose 8% premarket after the DOJ said it would not pursue an investigation into HPE's acquisition of Juniper.
Goldman: US profit margins face key risk from tariffs
As earning season approaches, Goldman Sachs (GS) said on Monday that US profit margins will be tested as investors await to see how President Trump's war has hurt companies.
Goldman's David Kostin said Q2 earnings will show the immediate impact of tariffs, which have risen about 10% this year. Most costs will be passed on to consumers, but margins will suffer if firms absorb more than expected.
Early results are mixed: General Mills (GIS) stock fell 5% last week due to a weak forecast and tariff warning, while Nike (NKE) rose 15% after announcing it will offset higher duties.
Bloomberg News reports:
European markets are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore
European stocks outperformed their US peers by the biggest margin on record in dollar terms during the first half. It's a dramatic sign of how the region’s markets are staging a comeback after more than a decade in the doldrums.
Bloomberg reports:
Canada scraps tax targeting US techs to revive trade talks
Canada has scrapped its planned digital services tax on US tech firms late on Sunday, just hours before it was due to come into effect.
The move aims to revive stalled trade talks with the US, which President Trump suddenly halted on Friday over the tax, calling it a "blatant attack" on American tech companies.
US stock futures rose as investors welcomed the news. Benchmark stock indexes in Tokyo and Shanghai also moved higher amid optimism that the US and its top trading partners can hammer out trade deals.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump now plan to reach a deal by July 21, Canada's finance ministry said.
Trump warned on Friday that he would set new tariffs on Canadian goods within a week, risking fresh tension between the two countries.
The White House has set a July 9 deadline for trading partners to broker deals with the US over the sweeping 'reciprocal' tariff rates announced in early April.
The 3% tech tax would have hit firms like Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), and Amazon (AMZN) starting on Monday. Canada will now bring forward legislation to cancel the tax.
"The DST was announced in 2020 to address the fact that many large technology companies operating in Canada may not otherwise pay tax on revenues generated from Canadians," a statement from the Canadian finance ministry said. "Canada’s preference has always been a multilateral agreement related to digital services taxation."
Oil falls with OPEC+ set to increase production
Oil prices fell overnight Sunday as global markets adjusted to the easing of tensions in the Middle East, in combination with a commitment from OPEC+ to increase supply in August.
Reuters reports:
