CLOSING BELL
Lib Day 2: 10% Off
Well, so much for that. The market pulled back Monday, waking up to grim new tariffs, still hungover from a blissful three days of closed trade.
On Sunday, Scott Bessent floated the idea that the pause was ending, and Monday, the president started sealing the deal, tweeting out letters to world leaders introducing 25-40% tariffs for not striking an agreement. The idea is that these new tariffs will take effect on August 1, as the 90-day tariff pause comes to a close on Wednesday. It must have been too hot in D.C. to hold a press conference in the Rose Garden this time of year.
Equities were not happy, dropping from a high Monday after having climbed more than 10% from the start of the pause. If it is clear to anyone to what end tariffs are being reintroduced, please share that information with the class.
Today's issue covers: Musk is going all America First, Trump does Liberation Day 2, retail is riled up, and more.
With the final numbers for indexes and the ETFs that track them, 1 of 11 sectors closed green, with utilities $XLU ( ▼ 1.06% ) leading and discretionary $XLY ( ▼ 0.34% ) lagging.
S&P 500 $SPY ( ▼ 0.06% ) 6,229
Nasdaq 100 $QQQ ( ▲ 0.06% ) 22,685
Russell 2000 $IWM ( ▲ 0.69% ) 2,214
Dow Jones $DIA ( ▼ 0.37% ) 44,406
STOCKS
Tesla Investors Are Not Happy Musk Wants To Go America All Over Everybody’s Ass
$TSLA ( ▲ 1.32% ) fell Monday after some shareholders’ worst nightmare became semi-reality: it looks like Chief Elon Musk is not learning from his heavy involvement in politics in the first half of the year.
Musk began discussing the possibility of founding a new political party in the U.S. over the weekend, following a poll on X that was open to more than just U.S. voters (and bots).
The tech CEO said the party would focus on flipping Senate and House seats over the next year in his most recent dig against the same president he spent $300M to help elect less than a year ago.
While tech bulls like Wedbush’s Dan Ives warned that the move could hurt Tesla right when the firm needs Musk’s attention the most, Axios reported the deep-pocketed South African expat might have what it takes to appear on state ballots.
Despite the hype, third parties have struggled to do more than offer disruption in the long term, according to Bernard Tamas, author of “The Demise and Rebirth of American Third Parties.”
Either way, Musk wrote on X that his party would be pro-gun, pro-deregulation, and pro-bitcoin, which sounds awfully similar to the aims of the current GOP, which arguably controls all three branches of the Federal government.
Retail sentiment drifted lower on fresh Musk Politics news.
COMPANY NEWS
In Partnership With Amazon, Trump Instates Lib Day 2: Lib Prime, 10% Off On Tariffs
To really kick start the news week, Trump took to Truth Social Monday to tweet out brand new, revised tariffs on multiple nations, including Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia, Thailand, and more.
The latest levies are set to take effect on August 1, after the administration’s “90 deals in 90 days” concept evolved into ‘no deals in 90 days.’
Earlier in the day, the president stated that the U.S. was imposing 25% levies on Japan and 30% on South Africa. It was a shoot-from-the-hip afternoon for the White House.
The president also made sure to call out the BRICS developing country alliance, a ten-country axis of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the UAE that met over the weekend in Brazil, for issuing a statement on trade worries.
He said any collusion or partnership would only lead to higher tariffs on anyone involved.
"Any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy," Trump wrote on social media.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva condemned the threats.
The fresh trade letters look like a 10% off deal, not unlike Amazon Prime Day (but not actually in partnership with Bezos). The new trade numbers are lower than the originals imposed three months ago.
For example, Bosnia was announced at a rate of 30% when, on April 2, it was 35%. Myanmar's rate was cut from 44% to 40%, Laos' from 48% to 40%, and Kazakhstan's from 27% to 25%, and so on. At this speed, why not wait out the four years until tariffs hit 0%? /s
One of many Truth Social posts announcing fresh tariffs.
POPS & DROPS
Top Stocks News Stories
Sandisk was initiated at ‘Buy’ by Jefferies with a $60 target, citing enterprise SSD momentum; however, retail sentiment on Stocktwits remains bearish. Read more
Shell expects weaker Q2 trading results to pressure earnings, although refining margins are expected to improve, and gas output is set to remain steady. Read more
CoreWeave fell after the firm announced it would acquire Core Scientific in an $9 billion all-stock deal, securing 2.3 GW of total power capacity. The merger, expected to close in Q4 2025, is expected to deliver $500 million in annual savings by 2027. Both stocks fell on the news. Read more
Stellantis faces a U.S. regulator recall query into nearly 1.2 million Ram trucks over potential brake transmission failures, sending retail sentiment from bullish to neutral. Read more
Amazon Prime Day is forecast to drive $23.8B in U.S. online sales, up 28%, as deep discounts fuel back-to-school demand amid Trump-era tariff pressures. Read more
Bitcoin hovered near record highs at $108,750 as investors eyed Trump’s July 9 tariff deadline and key crypto bills set for debate during next week’s “Crypto Week.” Read more
Bit Digital jumped 20% after shifting its crypto strategy to Ethereum, now holding over 100,000 ETH following a $172 million raise and aggressive BTC divestment. Read more
Helen of Troy had its price target cut by Canaccord to $47 over expected earnings pressure from Trump’s tariffs, with retail sentiment turning bearish. Read more
Iran signaled openness to U.S. talks despite past strikes on its nuclear sites, as President Pezeshkian told Tucker Carlson ahead of Trump’s White House meeting with Netanyahu. Read more
Trade Advisor Peter Navarro accused Apple CEO Tim Cook of stalling the iPhone production exit from China, calling it “the longest-running soap opera in Silicon Valley.” Read more
WHAT’S ON DECK
Tomorrow’s Top Things
Economic data: NY Fed 1-Year Consumer Inflation Expectations (Jun) (11:00 AM), 3-Year Note Auction (1:00 PM), Consumer Credit (May) (3:00 PM), API Weekly Crude Oil Stock (4:30 PM).
Pre-Market Earnings: No major reports, you can sleep in.
After-Hour Earnings: Aehr Test Systems ($AEHR), Kura Sushi USA ($KRUS), Saratoga Investment ($SAR), and Penguin Solutions ($PENG).