U.S. strikes EU trade deal, Samsung to make AI6 chips for Tesla: Morning Buzz

The major averages were largely flat near noon save for the Nasdaq, which was outperforming the other indices after the U.S. and EU announced a trade agreement over the weekend. Under the pact, the majority of EU exports to the U.S. will be subject to a 15% tariff. Meanwhile, media reported that South Korea is working on a trade agreement with the U.S., while the U.S. and China reportedly may extend their truce by a few more months. 

Outside of trade news, investors are now bracing for a critical week featuring major tech earnings from Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Amazon; a Federal Reserve meeting; and key economic releases including the PCE inflation gauge and the U.S. nonfarm payroll report.

Looking to commodities, gold prices were falling, adding to last week’s declines. Meanwhile, oil was sharply higher.

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1. STOCK NEWS:

• President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a trade deal between the U.S. and EU, under which the majority of EU exports coming to the U.S. will be subject to a 15% tariff
• Liquefied natural gas producers were jumping after the U.S.-EU trade deal, as the blocTSLA;TSM-Samsung-fab-in-Texas-to-make-nextgeneration-AI-chip-for-Tesla” target=”_blank” style=”background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);”>make a next-generation AI6 chip for Tesla (TSLA), according to the car maker’s CEO Elon Musk
• The U.S. and China will likely extend their tariff truce by another three months, Reuters says

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Nike (NKE) upgraded at JPMorgan, here’s why
• GE Vernova (GEV) downgraded to Neutral at Guggenheim and Mizuho
• TD upgraded PagerDuty (PD) to Buy on high likelihood of buyout
• Monness Crespi downgraded Coinbase (COIN) to Neutral, sees opportunity to take profit
• Cisco (CSCO) downgraded at Evercore ISI, here’s why

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Boeing (BA) is prepping for a strike at its St. Louis defense hub after the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 837 said its members voted against a new contract offer, Bloomberg reports
• The English Premier League recently signed deals with Adobe (ADBE) and Microsoft (MSFT) to offer AI-powered tools to fans, including those playing the Fantasy Premier League, FT says
• JPMorgan Chase (JPM) sent out price sheets to financial tech start-ups detailing plans to charge them to access the company’s customer data, FT reports
• Citigroup (C) is planning to launch a new premium credit card for frequent travelers in its latest attempt to wing over affluent customers, WSJ says
• KKR (KKR) is in talks to purchase ST Telemedia Global Data Centres, STT GDC, in a deal that could value the company at over $5B, Bloomberg says

4. MOVERS:

• Celcuity (CELC) gains after reporting statistically significant results from its Phase 3 VIKTORIA-1 trial
• EVgo (EVGO) increases after announcing a commercial bank loan facility
• Comerica (CMA) higher after HoldCo Asset Management urged the company to pursue an immediate sale process
• IREN (IREN) lower in New York after JPMorgan downgraded its rating on the stock to Neutral
• Nano Nuclear Energy (NNE) falls after filing a $620M mixed securities shelf

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• SES AI (SES) reported preliminary Q2 results and backed its guidance for FY25
• Revvity (RVTY) reported Q2 results and narrowed its guidance for FY25
• Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP) reported Q2 results, with CEO Joseph Craft III commenting, “All operations performed well during the quarter”
• Enterprise Products (EPD) reported Q2 results, with EPS beating consensus
• Bank of Marin (BMRC) reported Q2 results, with CEO Tim Myers commenting, “We continue to take steps to improve our core financial performance”

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 0.08%, or 33.87, to 44,935.79, the Nasdaq was up 0.30%, or 63.19, to 21,171.50, and the S&P 500 was up 0.10%, or 6.65, to 6,395.29.