US President Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly putting a Wednesday deadline on the current round of trade talks with dozens of nations after his Liberation Day tariff regime upended the global trade order, while negotiations with China have hit some turbulence and steel is coming in for steeper import levies.
Global markets have been mixed while New Zealand was on a long weekend, with Wall Street struggling for direction and equity markets in Asia and Europe weaker while the kiwi dollar spiked higher as investors digested the latest tariff news.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s various companies are in money raising mode, with his xAI artificial intelligence unit seeking a US$113 billion valuation in a share-sale, and Neuralink raising US$650 million in its latest funding round.
And as the NZX prepares to come back from the King’s Birthday holiday, Spark New Zealand is said to have attracted three suitors to partner up with its capital-hungry data centre plans.
Trade rumblings
Stocks on Wall Street were mixed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average edging down 0.1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite up 0.6% as carmakers such as General Motors and Ford Motor Co felt the brunt US President Donald Trump’s doubling of steel and aluminium tariffs to 50%.
Global trade has been top of mind, with Reuters reporting the White House wants countries to put their best foot forward by Wednesday to make sure multiple negotiations meet the administration’s five-week deadline after the 90-day pause on the Liberation Day tariffs, which are now subject to court proceedings in the US after being deemed unlawful.
And tensions between the US and China are ratcheting up again after Trump accused his counterparts of violating the trade truce, while Beijing hit back with claims the US undermined the talks, although Treasury secretary Scott Bessent is confident the two presidents will iron out their differences.
The new trade direction weighed on US manufacturing in May, with the Institute for Supply Management’s purchasing managers’ index of activity falling to its lowest level since November, remaining in contractionary territory.
“Trade tensions remain in focus after China and the US accused each other of violating their trade deal from last month and the European Union warned it may speed up retaliatory measures,” Bank of New Zealand senior interest rate strategist Stuart Ritson said in a note. “Treasury yields rose, despite a weaker than expected manufacturing ISM report, and the US dollar is weaker against G10 currencies.”
The kiwi dollar jumped to 60.34 US cents at 7am in Auckland from 59.62 cents yesterday and 59.70 cents last week.
Guess who’s back?
Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s companies have been busy since leaving his White House role.
Morgan Stanley is reportedly selling a US$5 billion debt package for Musk’s xAI company, which is also preparing a share sale letting staff sell stock to investors at a valuation of US$113 billion.
And Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink said it’s raised US$650 million in its latest funding round from the likes of ARK Invest, Lightspeed, Sequoia Capital and Valor Equity Partners.
In other deal news, Nikkei reported Toyota Industries is expected to accept a ¥6 trillion takeover by Toyota Motor, with the deal including funds from real estate arm Toyota Fudosan and personal funds from the carmaker’s chair, Akio Toyoda.
And The Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column yesterday reported that Spark NZ’s plans to sell a half-stake of its data centre business has attracted three bidders – Pacific Equity Partners, QIC and Igneo Infrastructure Partners.
The final countdown
Australian futures are pointing to a 0.6% increase for the S&P/ASX 200 index, with the Aussie bourse slipping 0.2% on Monday when the NZX was closed.
Local media group NZME is holding its annual meeting today in Auckland, where shareholders will get to meet the new governance team headed by Steven Joyce, provided they vote in favour of the regime change.
That comes as listed media companies around the world were broadly weaker after Meta Platforms unveiled plans to let firms use AI to create and target ads by the end of next year.
Local data today include March quarter terms of trade, while manufacturing data in China will also be in view.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash.
