Global Market Overview

By Chibuike Oguh and Elizabeth Howcroft

NEW YORK/PARIS (Reuters) – Global shares reached a record high on Friday, buoyed by optimism surrounding U.S.-China trade talks, while the dollar remained near its lowest levels in over three years.

The benchmark S&P 500 index and Nasdaq both achieved all-time highs, driven in part by gains in megacap growth stocks such as Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Both indices are poised for a weekly gain, each up about 5% this year following a tumultuous first half, marked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement on April 2, leading to a significant stock drop.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.13% to 43,879.23.
• The S&P 500 increased by 0.62% to 6,178.95.
• The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.51% to 20,270.99.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed up 1.1%, indicating a weekly gain, while the MSCI World Equity index reached a record high, expected to rise 3.3% for the week. London’s FTSE 100 increased by 0.72%. Asian shares also peaked at their highest in over three years during early trading but ended with a slight drop of 0.10%.

“It’s a continuation of this monster rally since early April,” commented James St. Aubin, Chief Investment Officer at Ocean Park Asset Management. He noted that the tariff dispute has become less of a concern for investors.

Investor sentiment improved following a trade agreement between the U.S. and China about expediting rare earth shipments, part of efforts to resolve the ongoing tariff war between both countries. Trump has set July 9 as the deadline for the EU and other countries to reach a tariff reduction agreement.

“We’re starting to see earnings estimates for the next 12 months on the rise after taking a little dip, and that’s what the market is responding to,” St. Aubin added.

Additionally, traders responded positively to a ceasefire between Iran and Israel and increased bets for U.S. rate cuts, especially with a potential change in Federal Reserve leadership.

Meanwhile, U.S. consumer spending unexpectedly fell by 0.1% in May for the second time this year, while inflation maintained a moderate rise.

Mark Malek, CIO at SiebertNXT, remarked, “What we’re witnessing this week is sort of the removal of some stumbling blocks, as trade issues clear up and geopolitical tensions ease.”

DOLLAR DIPS

The dollar traded at multi-year lows, nearing its lowest levels in 3.5 years against the euro and sterling. The dollar weakened by 0.01% to 0.799 against the Swiss franc but rose 0.24% to 144.725 against the Japanese yen. The euro traded at $1.17110, boosted by better-than-expected French consumer prices in June.

The dollar index decreased by 0.05% to 97.322, hovering at its lowest since the early 1970s. The yield on U.S. 10-year notes fell by 0.2 basis points to 4.246%.

German 30-year government bond yields are expected to see their biggest weekly increase in nearly four months due to expected increased borrowing by Germany’s government.

Oil prices rose slightly but were set for the steepest weekly decline since March 2023, as the lack of significant supply disruptions in the Iran-Israel conflict caused any risk premium to diminish. Brent crude futures increased by 0.13% to $67.82 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 0.25% to $65.4. Spot gold fell 1.64% to $3,273.28 an ounce.