Market Talks covering the impact of U.S. Politics and White House policies on companies and markets. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.

0624 ET - Strong growth at the start of year masks underlying weakness in the eurozone economy, Andrew Kenningham at Capital Economics writes in a note to clients. The 20-member currency area grew by 0.6% in the three months through March, according to figures Friday. This was a sharp revision upwards from the previous estimate of 0.3% growth. But a large part of that faster growth was down to a surge in pharmaceutical exports ahead of the anticipated introduction of U.S. trade tariffs. Germany and Ireland, both important pharma producing nations, were in large part behind the revision, Kenningham says. That will be reversed at the start of the second quarter, he says. "Looking through this volatility, the underlying picture is one of a weak cyclical recovery," Kenningham cautions. (joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby)

0438 ET - Base metal prices fall, with LME three-month copper down 0.2% at $9,685.50 a metric ton and LME three-month aluminum down 0.85% at $2,454 a ton. Copper remains up 3.5% on month, while aluminum is up 0.7% on month. President Trump's doubling of steel and aluminum tariffs to 50% on Wednesday is hitting other metal markets, particularly copper, Commerzbank analysts say in a note. The rise in U.S. copper inventories is likely to continue, as the probability of copper tariffs being introduced has increased, Commerzbank says. This should provide good support for copper prices, particularly when combined with persistent concerns of a copper ore shortage that threatens to stymie global metal production, analysts write. Commerzbank raises its copper price expectations for both the next two quarters to $9,500 a ton, from $9,200 and $9,400 previously. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

0429 ET - Tesla stock is recovering in premarket trade Friday, a day after CEO Elon Musk and President Trump traded barbs and insults. Tesla shares closed more than 14% lower at $284.70 on Thursday as investors digested the exchange between the two billionaires. Tesla shares are up 4.4% Friday premarket, touching a high of $303. Tensions became public after Musk criticized Trump's signature tax bill. The president said he was disappointed in his former White House adviser who was suffering from "Trump derangement syndrome." Trump threatened to eliminate government subsidies and contracts for Musk's businesses. The rupture intensified after Musk wrote on X that Trump "is in the Epstein files." (mauro.orru@wsj.com)

0405 ET - President Trump's conversation with China's President Xi helps the dollar to recover as it soothes some concerns about U.S.-China trade tensions. Gains in the dollar are small, however, as Trump's comments suggest the talk had limited results, MUFG's Derek Halpenny says in a note. There was nothing concrete from the call, he says, beyond Trump saying that "we're in very good shape with China and the trade deal." Investors have "not read too much into this initial dialogue," Halpenny says. Trade negotiations are usually unpredictable and the U.S.-China relationship is "volatile." The DXY dollar index rises 0.1% to 98.879. It hit a six-week low of 98.351 on Thursday. (jessica.fleetham@wsj.com)

0338 ET - Yields on U.K. government bonds fall ahead of the release of the U.S. non-farm payrolls data due at 1230 GMT. The data could be weak as President Trump's policies of tariffs and spending cuts hurt the economy. "The financial markets are jittery as we lead up to this payrolls report," XTB's Kathleen Brooks says in a note. There is a wide variation in forecasts for the jobs data, indicating the challenge in predicting the outcome of the U.S. economy in the uncertain environment, Brooks says. The 10-year gilt yields fall 2 basis points to last trade at 4.607%, Tradeweb data show. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)

0330 ET - The effect of President Trump's tariffs could weigh on eurozone growth earlier than expected, Pantheon Macroeconomics' Claus Vistesen writes. German's trade balance was hit as exports to the U.S. plunged in April, the first month of Trump's tariff blitz, figures show Friday. That reverses the stockpiling seen in the previous month, which boosted exports to the U.S in the first quarter. "The sharp drop in Germany's trade surplus in April suggests that net exports in the eurozone are reversing more quickly than anticipated, already weighing on growth in the second quarter," Vistesen says. "But more data are needed to get a clearer picture." (joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby)

0327 ET - Oil prices dip in early trade but are on track for a weekly gain of more than 3% after President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to further trade talks. Still, expectations the OPEC+ will agree to another large output hike to regain market share and take advantage of seasonal demand continue to hang over the market. Brent crude slips 0.6% to $64.95 a barrel, while WTI is down 0.7% to $62.95 a barrel. Traders now await the U.S. jobs report due later on Friday for more cues on the state of the U.S. economy. "Investors are bracing for potentially weak labour data following disappointing indicators earlier in the week, which could reinforce stagflation concerns and push the Federal Reserve toward a rate cut, possibly as early as September," analysts at IG say. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

0311 ET - The euro falls against the dollar, giving back some of the gains it made during European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde's press conference on Thursday. Lagarde signalled that the ECB is nearing the end of the easing cycle, which lifted eurozone bond yields and the euro. Falls in the euro are likely to be shallow, however, as investors tend to buy any dips against the dollar, KBC Bank analysts say in a note. Investors are showing a "loss of confidence in the dollar" because President Trump's tariffs and spending cuts are raising concerns about U.S. economic growth, they say. The euro falls 0.1% to $1.1428 after hitting a six-week high of $1.1494 on Thursday, according to LSEG data. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)

1541 ET - Destiny Tech100, one of the few ways investors can get exposure to Elon Musk's SpaceX, is taking a beating as the tech mogul trades barbs with President Trump. SpaceX makes up nearly half of the shares in the closed-end fund, according to an SEC filing. President Trump posted online Thursday that the easiest way for the U.S. to save money would be to terminate contracts with Musk. That post came after the SpaceX CEO critiqued Trump's megabill. SpaceX has billions of dollars worth of contracts with the federal government, primarily with the Pentagon and NASA. The federal government has also eyed deals with SpaceX's Starlink satellite service. Destiny shares slid 12%. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1506 ET - Confirmation by President Trump of a phone call with Chinese President Xi to discuss trade issues gave live cattle futures a big boost. The most-active contract rose 2.1%, to $2.17 a pound. It's right at the highest cattle has ever traded, which negated the signals of lower prices seen by traders in recent sessions. "[The] rally in live cattle this morning… took out the bearish key reversal," says Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing. "This market is lit." China has become a bigger consumer of U.S. beef in recent years, making indications of trade talks a positive for prices. Lean hogs did not get the same push, falling 0.4% to $1.05025 a pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1432 ET - Gold futures erase early gains after President Trump confirmed that he had been on a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss trade. Front-month futures fell 0.7% to $3,350.70 a troy ounce. That makes it two out of three trading sessions that gold settled lower. The main factor moving gold lower is indications that the U.S. and China will enter deeper negotiations to settle their trade dispute. "The Trump/Xi phone call probably sucks some juice out of the tariff risk profile, with safe haven flows seeking better payoffs versus riskier assets," Robert Yawger of Mizuho Securities USA says in a note. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1406 ET - Boxship freight rates jumped to their highest since the start of the year with U.S. importers bringing in more cargo from China on the back of the three-month tariff truce deal between Washington and Beijing. The cost to send a 40-foot container from Shanghai to Los Angeles jumped last week to $5,172 per, up 58% from the week earlier. Transpacific spot rates stood at around $2,000 at the start of the year. "A period of robust trade volumes now looks likely over the summer, particularly on the transpacific," Clarksons said in a research note. (costas.paris@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 06, 2025 06:24 ET (10:24 GMT)

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