Stock Market Update

Equity futures are flat following Wednesday's session that saw the Nasdaq Composite reach a record high and the S&P 500 capture its best finish of the week.

President Trump announced a 50% tariff on Brazil and confirmed that the 50% tariff on copper will be effective August 1, though trade developments did little to stifle yesterday's bullish action.

Bloomberg reports that officials from India are set to visit the the U.S. to continue trade talks.

Vietnam is planning additional penalties on transshipping after an agreement with President Trump, according to Reuters. 

The 2025 OPEC World Oil Outlook (WOO) was launched today at the 9th OPEC International Seminar. This year's publication sees that the world will require more energy in the decades to come, with global energy demand set to be expand by 23% to 2050. Global oil demand is set for continued robust growth, reaching almost 123 mb/d by 2050.

The market will look forward to the 08:30 ET release of  Initial Jobless Claims (Briefing.com consensus: 245K; prior 233K) and Continuing Jobless Claims (prior 233K).

In U.S. corporate news:

• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD 141.35, +2.94, +2.1%) upgraded to Buy from Hold at HSBC, tgt $200
• Conagra (CAG 19.70, -0.68, -3.3%): missed Q4 expectations and issued below-consensus EPS guidance for FY26.
• MP Materials (MP 42.33, +12.30, +41.0%): announced a partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense to accelerate U.S. rare magnet independence.
• Delta Air Lines (DAL 56.76, +6.06, +12.0%): beat Q2 expectations and issued in-line EPS guidance for FY25.
• WK Kellogg (KLG 26.60, +9.10, +52.0%): The Wall Street Journal reported that the company has received a $3 bln acquisition proposal from Ferrero.

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Asian markets ended mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei -0.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.6%, China's Shanghai Composite +0.5%
  • In economic data:
    • Japan's June PPI -0.2% m/m, as expected (last -0.1%); 2.9% yr/yr, as expected (last 3.3%)
    • New Zealand's May Visitor Arrivals -0.9% m/m (last 2.2%)
  • In news:
    • Shanghai Securities News speculated that the Chinese government will strengthen its stimulus efforts during the second half of the year
    • The Bank of Korea left its policy rate at 2.50%, as expected
    • Former Bank of Japan policymaker Sakurai now believes that the central bank will refrain from making another rate hike until early 2026 due to the impact of tariffs
    • Japan reduced its 20-yr JGB auction size to improve demand
• Major European indices trade in the green. Germany's DAX +0.2%, U.K.'s FTSE +1.2%, France's CAC +0.6%
  • In economic data:
    • Germany's June CPI 0.0% m/m, as expected (last 0.1%); 2.0% yr/yr, as expected (last 2.1%)
    • France's May Current Account deficit EUR3.10 bln (last deficit of EUR6.60 bln)
    • Italy's May Industrial Production -0.7% m/m (expected -0.2%; last 0.9%); -0.9% yr/yr (expected 0.2%; last 0.1%)
  • In news: 
    • The Bank of France expects domestic growth of 0.6% in 2025
    • Bank of England Governor Bailey said that ministers should not be able to mandate investment in domestic assets