Stan Choe, AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — US stocks added to records Monday as Wall Street approaches its second consecutive month’s finish.
The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in its first transaction after completing a spectacular rebound of about 20% from the spring sale. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 146 points (0.3%) as of 10:30am Eastern time, with Nasdaq Composite rising 0.2%.
The stock was boosted after Canada said it had withdrawn planned taxes on US technology companies and resumed trade talks with the US. On Friday, US President Donald Trump said he was suspending talks with Canada due to anger over taxes.
One of the main reasons why US stocks have returned soon after the spring failure is hoping Trump will reach deals with other countries to lower his harsh proposed tariffs. Otherwise, the fear is that trade wars can curb the economy and increase inflation.
Many of Trump’s announced tariffs are currently suspended, and they are expected to take effect in more than a week.
In an interview with Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures, Trump said his administration would notify the country that trade penalties will be in effect unless it has a deal with the US. He says that letters begin to come out “quite quickly” before the approaching deadline.
According to a strategist at Deutsche Bank, led by Parag Thatte and Binky Chadha, US stock markets have returned to record highs, which could increase the risk of an actual renewed tariff escalation. They pointed out patterns of market rallying in 2018 and 2019, prompting escalation of tariffs, then promoted market pullbacks, and then tolerant of tariffs, causing reunion.
“Despite the rhetoric of the opposite, this dynamic appears to be alive,” the strategist wrote in the report. “In our view, we will receive even more mercy if the negative impact of tariffs on growth, revenue or inflation begins to materialize beyond the market response.”
On Wall Street, GMS shares rose 11.8% after the specialist building products supplier said they agreed to sell to a Home Depot subsidiary in a transaction that pays $110.00 per share in cash. This will generate a total of approximately $5.5 billion, including debt.
Less than two weeks later, another company, QXO, said it was offering to buy GMS at $95.20 per share. QXO shares rose 1.9% after the announcement of Home Depot Bid, and Home Depot shares slipped 0.5%.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise raised 13.1%, and Juniper Networks rose 8.4% after saying it had reached an agreement with the US Department of Justice that could clear the merger path, subject to court approval. HPE is looking to buy Juniper in a $14 billion deal.
In the bond market, the Treasury relaxed slightly ahead of the major economic reports later in the week. The highlight is Thursday’s employment report. It is often the most predicted economic data per month, and will come a day earlier than usual due to the July 4th holiday.
The job market has been relatively stable recently in the face of tariffs, but employment has slowed down. Economists hope Thursday’s data will show another slowdown in employment with up to 115,000 jobs in June, starting from 139,000 in May.
Such data pending the Federal Reserve this year on interest rates. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has reiterated that more data will show how tariffs will affect the economy and inflation before more data resumes interest rate cuts. This is because lower rates can improve the economy and increase inflation.
Meanwhile, Trump is hoping for more cuts in fees, and they are coming soon. Two of his Fed’s appointees recently said the Fed’s next meeting could be considered for reduction rates within a month.
Treasury yields fell to 4.27% from 4.29% in the second half of Friday.
Overseas stock markets have taken more complex finishes in Asia and have taken a modest in Europe.
Hong Kong fell 0.9%, but rose 0.6% in Shanghai after China reported slight improvements in factory activities in June after Beijing and Washington agreed to impose high tariffs on each other’s exports in May.
AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
Original issue: June 30th, 2025 10:14am EDT
