OPENING CALL
Stock futures jumped Monday, boosted by relief that the next barrage of tariffs could be narrower than previously feared.
The White House is narrowing its approach to tariffs set to take effect on April 2.
It will likely leave out tariffs on specific industries while applying reciprocal charges on some major trading partners.
This week's full slate of data releases could easily reignite volatility in a stock market already feeling uneasy about the economy, according to market analysts.
GameStop, Dollar Tree, and Lululemon are all due to report earnings during the week.
Stocks to Watch
Azek stock rose 18% after it agreed to be acquired by Australian-listed James Hardie Industries.
MicroStrategy rose 4.7%. The major Bitcoin investor lowered the price of its coming preferred stock offering.
In a filing Friday it said it would sell perpetual preferred stock at $85 a share, 15% below the $100 price it originally expected. The company, however, increased the size of its offering and now will sell 8.5 million shares to net $711.2 million after expenses.
Tesla rose 3.9% premarket, BYD, the world's largest EV maker and Tesla rival, is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings Monday.
Watch For:
Flash Manufacturing PMI for March; Flash Services PMI for March; Earnings from KB Home, Oklo and Intuitive Machines
Today's Headlines/Must Reads:
- Farmers, Dockhands and Shipowners Fight Against U.S. Fees on Chinese Ships
- In Today's Upended Office Market, the Park Avenue Mystique Endures
- Ford's Fat Dividend Could be a Casualty of Tariffs
MARKET WRAPS
Forex:
The dollar traded softer after a modest recovery as investors looked ahead to economic data amid concerns about slowing growth.
However, any gains probably won't be sustained as the idea of U.S. exceptionalism is over and the currency is the most exposed to the ongoing "circus" around tariffs, Pepperstone said.
The euro pared gains slightly, after a key measure of eurozone services and manufacturing activity missed expectations.
Sterling might struggle to rise above $1.30 even as the dollar weakens given currency traders' increased focus on growth expectations ahead of the U.K. budget on Wednesday, Swissquote Bank said.
The budget will likely confirm that the U.K. is left with less than 10 billion pounds of headroom to boost economic growth and this means higher taxes or less spending.
"Both are negative for growth," it said.
Bonds:
Ten-year Treasury yields edged higher, in line with moves in eurozone bond yields.
Energy:
Oil prices inched lower as traders weighed the impact of talks for a cease-fire in Ukraine against fresh sanctions on Iranian oil.
The broader outlook remains mixed, with prospects that a deal in Ukraine could lead to the resumption of some Russian flows and OPEC+ preparing to raise output in April.
Meanwhile, "oil could receive further support this week amid reports that the Trump administration's reciprocal tariffs set for April 2 may not be as severe as initially feared," ING said.
Metals:
Gold futures rose and prices were benefiting from a softer dollar, rising central bank demand and fears of a potential universal U.S. tariff, Deutsche Bank said.
China, in particular, is driving the bigger share of central bank demand at 48%, outweighing shrinking global jewelry demand, expected to be at the lowest since 1989 amid record prices.
There are increased efforts to import gold ahead of a potential universal tariff, while higher federal debt is expected to increase prices further, it added.
Gold chart
Comex gold futures were likely consolidating, based on the daily chart , with the nearest resistance pegged at $3,100 and immediate support at $3,000, RHB said.
Copper Outlook
The premium for copper has climbed to 14% over the LME equivalent ahead of likely 25% tariffs on the base metal, Westpac said.
This is resulting in a massive wave of copper deliveries heading to the U.S. in coming weeks, which leaves the rest of the world short of copper, the group says.
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
23andMe Files for Bankruptcy, Announces Resignation of CEO Anne Wojcicki
23andMe filed for bankruptcy late Sunday night and announced the resignation of its chief executive, capping a precipitous fall for the DNA-testing company.
CEO Anne Wojcicki, who is stepping down from her position but remaining on the board, has so far tried unsuccessfully to rescue the business by buying it back.
Retail Stocks See Big Buys From Large Investors
Insiders at a range of retail companies have been buying up stock, as the entire sector has faded.
Tariff and trade-war worries have consumers cutting back. Recent high-profile stock purchases by executives and directors include the CEO of Best Buy, who bought shares on the open market for the first time, and a director at Home Depot, who bought shares on the open market for the first time in years.
Bayer Shares Plunge After U.S. Court Defeat in Roundup Case
Bayer shares fell sharply after the company was ordered to pay $2.1 billion by a jury in a Georgia state court, the latest legal defeat for the company in a case about its Roundup weedkiller.
The German agricultural and pharmaceutical group said the jury in a trial in the State Court of Cobb County, Georgia, on Friday reached a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. The verdict includes $2 billion in punitive damages and $65 million in compensatory damages, the company said.
Under Pressure to Raise Wages, Japan's Smaller Firms Get Creative
TOKYO-Employees at major Japanese companies have been promised the biggest pay increases in 34 years. That's a good sign for the economy, but forces smaller firms with smaller budgets to get creative to stay competitive in the labor market.
Rather than raising base salaries, which can be costly enough to strain a company's finances to the point of bankruptcy, small and medium-sized enterprises are looking at boosting benefits.
Data-Hungry Investors Dive Deep for Economic Clues
Anxiety about the U.S. economy is prompting traders to scour every economic report for nuggets of fresh information, at times diving into data they used to ignore.
Along with studying the usual readouts on jobs, manufacturing or inflation for clues to the path of interest-rate policy, many now say they are dissecting a broader range of reports for any signs that trade restrictions and other Trump administration policies are slowing growth.
Netanyahu and Top Aides Think Israel Must Beat Hamas on the Battlefield
TEL AVIV-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his new national-security team are planning a major ground offensive in Gaza in the belief that capturing and holding swaths of territory will allow them to finally defeat Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas, according to people familiar with the government's thinking.
On Sunday, Israel sent infantry into the northern part of the Gaza Strip and areas around Rafah in the south. Israel has also deployed troops in the so-called Netzarim corridor, which bisects the Palestinian enclave, returning to areas it had withdrawn from as part of a cease-fire deal. Israel also has targeted a series of Hamas's Gaza-based political leaders in recent days.
U.S. Delegation to Visit Greenland as White House Ramps Up Pressure on the Island
WASHINGTON-U.S. national security adviser Michael Waltz and second lady Usha Vance will travel to Greenland this week, the White House said Sunday, further straining relations over President Trump's improbable vow to acquire the Danish territory "one way or the other."
Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede called the planned visit days before local elections "highly aggressive." Energy Secretary Chris Wright is also expected to join Waltz, Vance and her son as part of the first high-level U.S. delegation to visit the self-governing island since Trump declared he wanted to take it over from Denmark.
China Is Ready to Blockade Taiwan. Here's How.
China's armed forces are more ready than ever to surround the self-ruled island of Taiwan, cut it off from the world and try to squeeze it into submission.
A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would be an act of war that sparks a global crisis. It would provoke a military response by Taiwan, force President Trump to decide whether the U.S. military should help defend the island, disrupt global trade and impel European nations to impose punishing sanctions on Beijing.
clare.kinloch@wsj.com
TODAY IN CANADA
Earnings:
Diversified Royalty 4Q
Economic Indicators $(ET)$:
Nothing major scheduled
Stocks to Watch:
Glacier Media 2024 Rev C$141.9M; 2024 Loss/Shr C$0.19
Maxim Power 4Q Loss/Shr C$0.01; 4Q Rev C$24M
ThreeD Capital Inc. Issues Early Warning Report In Connection With Acquisition Of Securities Of Avicanna Inc.
Other News:
Canada's Mark Carney Calls a Snap Election
Expected Major Events for Monday
00:30/JPN: Mar Japan Flash Manufacturing PMI
05:00/JPN: Feb Steel Production
08:15/FRA: Mar France Flash PMI
08:30/GER: Mar Germany Flash PMI
09:30/UK: Mar Flash UK PMI
12:30/US: Feb Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI)
13:45/US: Mar US Flash Manufacturing PMI
13:45/US: Mar US Flash Services PMI
14:00/US: 4Q Quarterly Financial Report - Retail Trade
14:00/US: 4Q Quarterly Financial Report - Industry
All times in GMT. Powered by Kantar Media and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Monday
ACT Energy Technologies Ltd (ACX.T) is expected to report for 4Q.
ATI Physical Therapy Inc (ATIP) is expected to report for 4Q.
Accord Financial Corp (ACD.T) is expected to report for 4Q.
Akoya Biosciences Inc $(AKYA)$ is expected to report $-0.15 for 4Q.
Applied Energetics Inc (AERG) is expected to report for 4Q.
BioAge Labs Inc $(BIOA)$ is expected to report for 4Q.
BuzzFeed Inc $(BZFD)$ is expected to report for 4Q.
California First Leasing Corp (CFNB) is expected to report for 1Q.
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
March 24, 2025 06:25 ET (10:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments