The global markets began the week with a mixture of financial and political headlines. Trump reignited tariff tensions against India. US stock futures held steady over the holidays. Alibaba rallied on cloud-based AI and cloud optimism.
Take a look at today’s most popular stories.
Trump claims India has offered no tariffs to American products
US President Donald Trump ripped into India’s trading policies again on Monday. He called the relationship “a totally one-sided catastrophe.”
Trump posted on Truth Social that India has now offered to reduce tariffs to zero on American products. He dismissed this move as being “too late,” and saying it “should have been done years ago.”
The Indian government has been complaining for years that it buys its defense and oil supplies mostly from Russia, not the United States. He cited this as an obstacle to the relationship between India and the United States.
Trump claimed that Indian exports are easily available on the US market while American companies still face heavy tariffs and regulations in India.
The remarks came during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese president Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit. You can read the entire report by clicking here.
US Stock Futures Remain Cautious
US equity markets closed on Labor Day, Monday. However, Dow Jones futures traded and provided an indication of the mood.
Futures began near 45,685, or about 9 points above the previous session’s closing price, and were within a tight band throughout most of that day.
Contracts ranged between 45,528 at the low and 45,752 at the high before finishing close to midpoint.
Investors are waiting to see what new economic data will be released and how earnings perform later this week.
Despite the fact that there were no signs of heavy sales pressure, global issues remain at the forefront.
Even modest futures moves gave traders an idea of where they stood ahead of the full reopening of markets on Tuesday.
Alibaba rally shows tech sector strength
Alibaba’s shares are up more than 12 percent in the last few weeks. Investors have bet heavily on the growth of its cloud-based and artificial intelligence businesses.
Alibaba, whose technology platforms are generating more revenue than ever before, is the reason traders have seen gains as they look beyond weakening sentiments in China’s economy.
Stocks are still sensitive to US/China trade tensions. However, the stock’s size and mix of business gives it some room for maneuver.
The stock market has risen in volume as analysts have raised their earnings expectations.
Alibaba’s performance, for many investors is regarded as an indicator of the health of China’s technology sector, and by extension global digital commerce. You can read the entire report by clicking here.
Trump’s token launches at $30B
World Liberty Financial token (WLFI), a crypto project linked to US President Donald Trump, and his family debuted Monday, with a valuation of over $30 billion on paper.
About 25% of the 100 billion tokens released in circulation opened at $0.30, on Binance, Upbit and Gate.
Lock-up restrictions limit the immediate sale of Trump’s family stake. It is valued at approximately $6 billion.
WLFI is also the governance token of the World Liberty Financial DeFi Platform, which runs the USD1 Stablecoin. The trading volume was high on the launch day. Much of the demand can be attributed to Trump’s brand, rather than the fundamentals.
WLFI is being closely watched for its debut, as it will be a good test of how digital assets with political links can gain traction on a crowded DeFi marketplace.
The post Evening Digest: Trump’s new jabs at India, Alibaba cloud lift and WLFI $30B splash first appeared on ICD
