Source: CNBCTV18
China has granted temporary export licenses to rare-earth suppliers of the top three U.S. automakers, two sources familiar with the matter said, as supply chain disruptions begin to surface from Beijing’s export curbs on those materials.At least some of the licenses are valid for six months, the two sources said, declining to be named because the information is not public. It was not immediately clear what quantity or items are covered by the approval or whether the move signals China is preparing to ease the rare-earths licensing process, which industry groups say is cumbersome and has created a supply bottleneck.
Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet’s (CRCL) shares climbed 41% to hit a record high on Friday, extending a stellar run after a blowout market debut on the New York Stock Exchange a day earlier. The New York-based company’s stock touched as much as $117.45, more than triple its offer price of $31 and valuing the company at $30.5 billion on a fully diluted basis. The blockbuster listing also reinforced expectations that the IPO market was regaining its momentum after being stifled by tariff-driven volatility. (Source: Reuters)
Morgan Stanley remains bullish on Tesla despite the recent public feud between CEO Elon Musk and President Trump. The firm maintains an Overweight rating with a $410 price target, highlighting Tesla’s growth potential beyond electric vehicles. Analysts point to Tesla’s expanding presence in AI-related areas like data, robotics, energy storage, manufacturing, and space technology, which offer greater profit opportunities than its traditional EV business, currently under pressure. They believe Tesla’s current challenges are well known, but its future prospects are underestimated. Following the spat with Trump, Tesla’s stock rebounded, recovering from a sharp sell-off that wiped out over $150 billion in value.
On Friday, Microsoft (MSFT) opened at a new record high, overtaking AI chip leader Nvidia (NVDA) to become the world’s largest company by market value. The software giant rose nearly 1% in early trading, surpassing $47 per share and reaching a market cap of over $3.5 trillion—exceeding Nvidia’s $3.46 trillion valuation. Year to date, Microsoft has gained 12%, compared to Nvidia’s approximate 6% increase. The company has fully bounced back from its early April lows following President Trump’s announcement of a reciprocal tariff policy, which was later rolled back.
President Trump urged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, criticising Fed Chair Jerome Powell for being “too late” despite strong US economic performance. However, a solid May jobs report—139,000 new nonfarm payrolls added and a steady 4.2% unemployment rate—diminished hopes for a June rate cut. While a weak ADP report earlier sparked speculation, the Labor Department’s data showed the labor market remains resilient, though slowing. Investors now see little chance of easing until September. The Fed has kept rates steady in 2025 after a 1% cut in late 2024 amid uncertainties linked to Trump’s policies.
Tesla shares climbed as much as 4.5% early Friday as investors hoped for signs of de-escalation in the high-profile fallout between CEO Elon Musk and former US President Donald Trump—a feud that had contributed to a staggering $150 billion wipeout in Tesla’s market value earlier this week.
Reports from Politico and Reuters initially suggested a phone call between the two was scheduled for Friday, sparking optimism that the rift might be resolved. However, conflicting updates quickly emerged, with Reuters later denying that any such conversation was on the agenda.
Despite the uncertainty, the prospect of a thaw in the Trump-Musk spat was enough to trigger a modest rebound in Tesla’s stock price after days of pressure.
US stocks rallied on Friday with the S&P 500 (GSPC) breaching the 6,000 level following a moderate beat on the monthly jobs report and rising investor hopes of a cooldown in the acrimonious feud between President Trump and Elon Musk.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose more than 500 points, or 1.3%, while the S&P 500 added 1% to touch its highest level since February. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) also gained 1%.
Tesla (TSLA) shares rose as CEO Musk and Trump moved to cool tensions. Musk backed off his threat to decommission the Dragon spacecraft used by NASA after Trump threatened his government contracts. However, the White House tamped down reports of a potential “peace call” between the two.
U.S. money market funds saw a sharp rise in inflows for the week ending June 4, driven by investor caution amid increased U.S. tariffs on steel imports, ongoing trade tensions between President Donald Trump and China, and an important jobs report due on Friday. According to LSEG Lipper data, investors poured a net $66.24 billion into money market funds—the largest weekly inflow since December 2024. Meanwhile, riskier equity funds experienced net outflows of $7.42 billion, up from $5.39 billion the previous week. Small-cap funds saw $2.99 billion in withdrawals, the highest since April, while multi-cap, mid-cap, and large-cap funds faced outflows of $2.13 billion, $1.05 billion, and $962 million, respectively.
The US labour market showed resilience in May despite President Trump’s new tariff policies, adding 139,000 jobs—surpassing economists’ expectations of 126,000. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2%. In April, the US economy had added 177,000 jobs with the unemployment rate unchanged at 4.2%, but recent revisions lowered April’s job growth to 147,000. Overall, revisions from March and April indicate the US labor market added 95,000 fewer jobs than initially reported.
Circle (CRCL) stock surged again in premarket trading Friday following its explosive IPO debut on Thursday. Shares climbed 14%, reaching around $94 by 8:00 a.m. ET. The stablecoin issuer’s stock rocketed 168% from its initial $31 offering price on its first day, closing with a market value exceeding $16 billion.
U.S. stock futures rose on Friday as tensions between President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk showed signs of easing, bringing some relief to global markets. Investors are now closely watching the upcoming U.S. jobs report, which could offer key insights into the health of the world’s largest economy. Dow Jones futures were up 0.4%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures also gained 0.4% each. The May nonfarm payrolls report, due at 8:30 a.m. ET (6:00 p.m. IST), is expected to show 125,000 new jobs added, signaling a slowdown in hiring. Unemployment is forecast to hold steady at 4.2%. This report comes after a string of weak U.S. economic data raised concerns of stagnation, potentially influencing the U.S. Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rates. Indian investors and markets are also keeping a close watch, as U.S. economic trends often have ripple effects on emerging economies like India.
Tesla is the worst-performing large-cap stock this year, thanks to declining electric vehicle demand, Chief Executive Elon Musk’s political controversies over his ties to far-right groups, and now, his public feud with President Donald Trump. Tesla shares slumped on Thursday, after Trump on social media threatened to cut off government contracts with Elon Musk’s companies, following Musk’s sharp criticism of the president’s signature tax and spending bill on his X social media platform. The market capitalization of Tesla Inc has fallen 29.3% to $917 billion so far this year, the biggest drop among big companies in the world.
The May jobs report is expected to show hiring slowed while the unemployment rate held flat. The data’s release will come as investors closely watch for any further signs of slowing in the US labor market. The Bureau of Labor Statistics data is slated for release at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday. Economists expect nonfarm payrolls to have risen by 125,000 in May and the unemployment rate to have held steady at 4.2%, according to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
The European Union is open to lowering tariffs on US fertiliser imports as an offer in trade talks with the Trump administration, but will not weaken its food safety standards in pursuit of a deal, EU agriculture commissioner Christophe Hansen told Reuters.
“That is definitely an option,” Hansen said, of reducing US fertiliser tariffs.
“That will be on the table. And I think that would be a huge way forward, and an offer as well to the US,” he said in an interview with Reuters on Thursday, adding that whether that would mean zero tariffs, or a reduction of current rates, would need to be negotiated.
US exports face the EU’s standard tariffs of 5.5% on imports of ammonia, and 6.5% on nitrogen fertilisers, as well as an extra 29.48 euro-per-tonne anti-dumping duty on US urea ammonium nitrate (UAN).
Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett warns that global stocks are nearing a sell signal as fund inflows and market breadth appear overheated, according to Bloomberg. He highlights that stock and high-yield bond inflows have reached 0.9% of fund managers’ total assets in the past four weeks. Hartnett advises selling if this ratio surpasses 1%. Additionally, about 84% of country indexes are trading above their 50- and 200-day moving averages, indicating the market may be overbought. These signals suggest heightened risk of a market correction as investor enthusiasm peaks.
The European Central Bank is approaching the end of its interest-rate cuts, according to two Governing Council members, as others declared inflation has been vanquished.
President Christine Lagarde “summarized it nicely yesterday saying that probably we have almost finished the rate-reduction cycle this time around,” Estonia’s Madis Muller said in an interview with Aripaev Radio, speaking the day after the ECB lowered borrowing costs for an eighth time in a year. “Regarding what lies ahead — no one can say anything for certain yet.”
Easing is “nearly done,” Greece’s Yannis Stournaras told Bloomberg Television, advocating a timeout for now. “But with such uncertainty worldwide you can never say it’s done.”
The US has ceased to be a secure destination for foreign investors because of risks stemming from President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill, according to Raphael Gallardo, chief economist at French asset manager Carmignac.
Gallardo is the latest market commentator to voice deep concern about Section 899 of the bill. The provision would increase tax rates for individuals and companies from countries whose tax policies the US deems “discriminatory,” prompting some to dub the measure the “revenge tax.”
“The United States is no longer a safe nation for investment,” Gallardo said during a briefing on the outlook for the second half of the year. Carmignac, which had about €34 billion ($39 billion) under management at the end of 2024, entitled its presentation “’From America First’ to Global Financial Anarchy.”
Sweden’s economy and households are feeling the heat from U.S. trade tariffs, the Scandinavian country’s finance minister told CNBC — before the full force of the levies has even come into play.
“Our economy and the public finance are very solid. We have a low debt and we can cope with quite a lot. But eight of 10 Swedes save or invest their money in funds, stock markets and so on. So when the market has gone up and down, that has been costly for households,” Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson told CNBC Tuesday.
Trump is really playing a high stakes here, and it’s a game with no winners, really, and it’s costly for households, and that makes me sad,” she added.
European indices are trading mixed after the ECB rate cut on Thursday and the ongoing trade tensions.
The Stoxx 600 index is little changed, while the German DAX is down 0.25%.
FTSE is at the flat line, while the CAC in France is trading with losses of 0.2%.
Foreign inflows into South Korean stocks this week hit the highest since March 2024, despite a shortened trading week, as Tuesday’s presidential election ushered in an end to a months-long political leadership vacuum.
Global funds have added a net $1.8 billion in the equity market to mark the second straight week of inflows, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That comes with the benchmark Kospi index advancing 4.2% in the week’s three trading sessions for the biggest weekly gain since February 2024.
President Lee Jae-Myung has pledged to shore up growth, with a focus on increasing government spending and improving corporate reform. His win is expected to restore political stability in South Korea, reducing near-term political risks and boosting the domestic outlook, according to strategists from UOB.
Russian drone and missile attacks killed at least four people in Kyiv and wounded more than a dozen others, in a strike that comes after President Vladimir Putin pledged reprisals for a Ukrainian drone attack on Russian air bases.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko posted the casualty figures Thursday on Telegram, adding that the number of victims may grow and rescue operations are underway in several locations. Kyiv Metro said its infrastructure was damaged and one of the key lines was partially closed, with repairs expected to take 24 hours.
Putin warned US President Donald Trump in a telephone call this week that Moscow would retaliate for Ukrainian operations inside Russian territory that destroyed several strategic nuclear bombers over the weekend. It was the clearest signal yet that the US president’s peace efforts have stalled.
German industrial production and exports sank in April, dashing hopes of a cyclical recovery of the country’s critical sector amid looming US trade tariff threats.
Output fell 1.4% from the previous month and shipments of goods abroad declined 1.7%, the statistics office said on Friday. Both downturns were more severe than predicted by economists in Bloomberg surveys.
Data on Thursday showed that German factory orders surprisingly increased in April, defying expectations of a significant decline, due to substantial growth in demand for computer, electronic, and optical products.
Temasek Holdings Pte Chairman Lim Boon Heng is stepping down and will be succeeded by Teo Chee Hean, marking a significant shift in leadership after he served in the role for 12 years.
Teo will replace Lim on October 9, the state-run investment firm said in a statement on Friday. As part of the change, Deputy Chairman Cheng Wai Keung and director Stephen Lee will leave the board on June 30. Director Bobby Chin will also retire on July 31.
Incoming Chairman Teo is former political figure who has helped Singapore develop in critical areas like geopolitics, cybersecurity and technology, as well as defense and security, Temasek said. He has spent 53 years in public service.
Oil was steady after advancing Thursday on optimism around easing trade tensions between the US and China following a call between the leaders of the two countries.
Brent traded around $65 a barrel and was on track for its first weekly gain since mid-May, while West Texas Intermediate was near $63. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, agreed to further trade talks aimed at resolving disputes over tariffs and supplies of rare earth minerals.
Oil has been buffeted in Trump’s second term, losing almost a fifth since his inauguration in January, on concerns that US-led tariffs wars will sap demand. Price swings have lessened since mid-May as traders weigh the progress of trade talks, a seasonal uptick in consumption during the summer driving season, geopolitical risks in Iran and Russia and the prospect of OPEC+ returning more barrels to the market.
Silver extended gains to trade just below a 13-year high while platinum hit highest level in more than two years, signaling growing investor appetite for precious metals used by the industrial sector.
Spot silver rose on Friday, following a 4.5% move in the previous session that saw it edge above $36 an ounce for the first time since February 2012. Platinum’s rally continued, gaining as much as 1.2% to a high of $1,154.73 an ounce.
The commodities were aided by technical momentum across the metals complex as well as improving fundamentals, with strong appetite for physical silver in India and resurgent Chinese platinum demand reinforcing the rallies, according to a note from Nicky Shiels, head of metals strategy at Geneva-based MKS PAMP SA.
Japan and the US have begun the latest round of trade negotiations, with media reports suggesting Tokyo’s delegation is trying to win a reprieve from the tariffs by pledging to make more cars in the US and enhancing cooperation on rare earths.
Japan’s top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday in Washington, exchanging specifics on non-tariff barriers, expanding trade and cooperating on economic security, Japan’s cabinet secretariat said in a release. Akazawa is expected to return to Japan Sunday after finishing what could be the last round of cabinet level discussions before Group of Seven leaders convene for a summit in Canada later this month.
Expectations are mounting that Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and US President Donald Trump, who held two phone meetings recently, may announce a deal when they meet on the sidelines of the summit.
Russia’s central bank is on the cusp of the first interest-rate cut in three years, as easing inflation opens the door to relief for an economy struggling under the weight of high borrowing costs.
The Bank of Russia will reduce the key rate by at least a full percentage point on Friday, according to five economists surveyed by Bloomberg. One of them forecasts a cut of 200 hundred basis points, while four others expect no change from the record-high level of 21%.
Governor Elvira Nabiullina and her team have held the rate since October as they battle inflation that’s running at more than double the 4% target. But with signs emerging that price growth is slowing, ministers and business have become increasingly vocal in their calls for easing to support the war-time economy.
Elon Musk signaled he would move to cool tensions with US President Donald Trump, after differences between the two exploded Thursday into an all-out public feud.
Earlier in the day, Musk called for Trump’s impeachment and insinuated he was withholding the release of files related to disgraced New York financier Jeffrey Epstein because of his own presence in them.
Trump, in turn, proposed cutting off the billionaire’s government contracts, following his onetime adviser’s repeated exhortations for Republicans to vote against the president’s signature tax legislation because it would increase the deficit.
However, hours after saying he would end use of Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s Dragon spacecraft, Musk reversed course and signaled there could be a cooling-off period between Trump and the world’s richest man.
Elon Musk seemingly backed down from a threat to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft that ferries cargo and people to the International Space Station for the US, made during an escalation of a spat between the billionaire and President Donald Trump.
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is the company’s primary vehicle for sending astronauts and cargo to orbit. The company has billions of dollars in contracts with NASA to send the agency’s astronauts on periodic trips to and from the ISS, which helps the space agency to maintain an uninterrupted presence at the space station until its retirement by the end of 2030.
Musk initially pledged to decommission the spacecraft after Trump’s threat to pull Musk’s governmental contracts, which was prompted by Musk’s near-incessant bashing of the president’s tax bill on X, his social media service.
Not a single tweet in defense of Trump from @JDVance after Elon called for Trump to be impeached and for Vance to take over. Pretty telling…
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) June 5, 2025
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