Volkswagen workers protest plant closures - Volkswagen union leader Daniela Cavallo told workers on Tuesday that trust in CEO Oliver Blume had been undermined during restructuring negotiations,
Dollar depreciation benefits emerging market currencies - US government bonds and emerging market currencies are diverging more than at any time in more than four years, as rising US yields no longer fuel the dollar's strength as they once did.
Oil prices are falling after the White House unveiled a sanctions package aimed at isolating the Iranian economy. Intuit is scheduled to report after the US market close, and Bitcoin above $80,000.
Futures on major US stock indexes are rising, while key earnings reports from Nvidia and a closely watched inflation figure are expected in the coming days.
1. Futures rise.
US stock futures rose on Tuesday as investors braced for upcoming quarterly results from AI darling Nvidia and key inflation data later this week. By 10:08 AM Moscow time, Dow futures were up 89 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 futures were up 20 points, or 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 165 points, or 0.6%.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 retreated in the previous session, with analysts noting pressure in AI-related stocks such as chipmakers and semiconductor equipment suppliers, offsetting gains in other segments such as financials and consumer staples.
Sentiment was impacted by the return of trade tensions between the US and Canada. A new deal to avert massive 50% US tariffs on a wide range of Canadian goods failed to materialize, prompting Ottawa to promise to impose retaliatory tariffs. However, as Vital Knowledge analysts noted, these tariffs won't go into effect for several more weeks, leaving time for potential negotiations, while the White House's threatened tariffs on all Canadian auto, truck, and steel exports have been delayed until January 2027.
2. White House Launches Global Iran Sanctions Plan
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent used a long-awaited press conference on Monday to announce new economic sanctions against Iran, as Washington seeks to isolate the Islamic Republic.
Bessent described the moves as an "economic assault on Iran's financial ties" worldwide, which will undermine the ability of Tehran's "enablers" to keep it afloat.
He added that President Donald Trump is asking other countries to make "specific requests to cease engagement" with Iran, which has been at war with the US since Washington and Israel launched a joint attack in late February. Although sanctions have not yet been imposed, the White House has published a timetable for countries to scale back their activities with Iran. Bessent warned that "anyone facilitating money laundering on behalf of Iran" will be excluded from the US dollar system, adding that "the clock is ticking."
3. Brent Falls
Investors, for their part, took the news calmly. Oil prices fell on Tuesday, with the benchmark Brent futures contract last trading down 0.6% at $91.58 per barrel.
Brent, as well as U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude, ended the previous session down more than 2%. WTI, in particular, is currently near a weekly low, reportedly driven by profit-taking after a multi-week rally.
"Oil prices fell yesterday despite renewed U.S. plans to increase economic pressure on Iran," ING analysts said in a note to clients.
"[Traders] view U.S. efforts to distract partners from Iran as insignificant and not market-moving."
Analysts noted that it was unclear whether Washington would risk the fragile trade truce with China, the largest buyer of Iranian energy, over secondary sanctions.
4. Intuit to Report.
Intuit will be a major event on the earnings calendar on Tuesday.
In May, the software provider cut its full-year revenue forecast for its key tax preparation service, TurboTax, and unveiled plans to cut its workforce by 17%.
These announcements sent shares tumbling at the time and fueled concerns about potential disruption from competitors using new AI systems. Despite lacking access to proprietary financial data, large, general-purpose language models can perform some of the same functions as TurboTax, possibly reducing the division's competitive advantage.
Intuit's workforce reductions, which will result in the elimination of approximately 3,000 jobs, were seen as a move to streamline the firm's operations to better focus on its own AI offerings.
5. Bitcoin Surpasses $80,000
Meanwhile, Bitcoin jumped to a more than three-month high, driven by strong inflows into exchange-traded funds tracking Bitcoin spot prices and robust risk appetite.
The world's largest cryptocurrency rose 4.0% to $80,415.7 by 10:48 Moscow time, after briefly reaching a three-month high of $81,220.4.
Bitcoin has now risen in eight of the last nine sessions. The digital token has also benefited from short-covering after its recent rebound eliminated a large number of bearish positions.
Bitcoin's latest rally was partly fueled by growing concerns about the health of the US financial system. These concerns were sparked last week when the US Treasury unveiled plans to effectively double the pace of bond buybacks to help curb rising yields.