S&P 500 Soars Past 6,400 as U.S. and EU Slash Tariffs to 15%—Markets Cheer

Wall Street's benchmark index rockets higher as trade tensions ease—because nothing fuels gains like politicians pretending to play nice.

Tariff Truce Sends Stocks Stratospheric

The S&P 500 smashed through the 6,400 barrier after transatlantic rivals decided to stop shooting themselves in the foot—for now. A 15% tariff ceiling replaces what was essentially a tax on economic growth.

Liquidity Floodgates Creak Open

Traders piled into risk assets faster than a hedge fund manager chasing performance fees. The move signals temporary relief in the endless trade war saga—just in time for election season grandstanding.

Cynic's Corner

Funny how 'free trade' always seems to require 15% government skim. Some things never change—except stock prices, apparently.

Traders watch earnings, Fed, and Trump’s August 1 deadline

The week is already loaded with pressure points. Wall Street will see earnings from top tech companies, a closely watched Federal Reserve meeting, inflation numbers, and Trump’s own August 1 tariff deadline.

Even before Trump’s Sunday announcement, U.S. equities had ended the previous week strong. On Friday, the Dow added 208.01 points, ending at 44,901.92.

The S&P 500 closed at 6,388.64, its 14th record finish of the year and fifth straight day of new highs. The Nasdaq Composite ended Friday at 21,108.32, also setting a fresh record, its 15th this year.

Wall Street’s Optimism last week had already been helped by solid earnings and other trade negotiations with countries like Japan and Indonesia. But with new tariffs off the table for now, markets had extra fuel going into Monday.

The rally also lifted commodities. Gold traded NEAR $3,335 an ounce after losing 0.4% last week. The yellow metal has still risen more than 25% this year, as investors continue to seek safety amid geopolitical uncertainty, including ongoing conflict in Ukraine and instability in the Middle East.

After briefly crossing $3,500 an ounce back in April, the latest data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed that fund managers had raised bullish positions on Gold to the highest point in 16 weeks.

Europe mostly flat as Asia-Pacific reacts to U.S. momentum

The reaction in Europe was mixed, as the FTSE MIB in Italy ROSE by 126.58 points to close at 40,726.26, up 0.31%. OMXS30 in Sweden moved 0.23% higher to 2,606.32. Denmark’s OMXC 25 climbed 0.26%, while Finland’s HEX inched up 0.04%.

Other markets in the region were flat. Germany’s DAX remained at 24,217.5. France’s CAC 40, the STOXX600, AEX, BEL 20, SMI, and PSI20 all showed no movement. The UK’s FTSE fell 18.06 points, or 0.2%, closing at 9,120.31. Spain’s IBEX 35 dropped by 19.2 points, or 0.13%, ending the session at 14,237.3.

In currency markets, the euro-dollar pair moved up slightly to 1.175, while the British pound stayed at 1.344 with almost no change. The Japanese yen traded at 147.85 against the dollar after a 0.13% increase. The U.S. dollar index stood at 97.62, up just 0.01%.

The Asia-Pacific session opened with mixed sentiment. At 10 a.m. in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was up 0.49%, extending momentum from the U.S. session. But elsewhere, traders were waiting. Mainland China’s CSI 300 was flat ahead of U.S.-China trade talks scheduled to begin later Monday in Stockholm.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.85%, and the broader Topix slid 0.44%. In South Korea, the Kospi edged up 0.15%, while the Kosdaq stayed flat. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.2%.

Get seen where it counts. Advertise in Cryptopolitan Research and reach crypto’s sharpest investors and builders.