After delivering its strongest monthly performance since November 2023, Wall Street entered June on a cautious note, with mounting geopolitical tensions and new trade tariffs clouding investor appetite for risk assets.
President Donald Trump announced over the weekend that tariffs on steel and aluminum imports will be doubled to 50% starting June 4, reigniting trade tensions with China. Beijing responded by accusing Washington of seriously violating trade agreements and pledged to take strong measures to defend its interests.
The renewed dispute ignited a rally in precious and industrial metals. Aluminium prices climbed 2.5%, copper gained 3%, and silver soared 4.6%, marking its best daily performance since September 2024. Gold also caught a bid, rising 2.8% to $3,327 per ounce, its highest level since May 8, as investors sought safe-haven protection.
Russia’s war with Ukraine escalated over the weekend, with Ukrainian drones striking airfields deep inside eastern Siberia. Moscow responded with one of its largest missile and drone barrages yet.
The geopolitical flare-up sent oil prices up 3.5% to $64 a barrel, shrugging off OPEC+’s announcement of a 411,000 barrels-per-day production hike starting in July.
Meanwhile, U.S. natural gas prices spiked 7% as traders priced in a potential increase in LNG demand from Europe.
On the macro front, the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) revealed a deeper-than-expected contraction in May. Price pressures remained elevated, hovering near their highest levels in three years.
Selling pressure resumed in the Treasury market, with the yield on the 30-year U.S. bond rising 6 basis points to 4.98%.
The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT dropped 1.5%, reflecting losses in long-duration bonds. At the same time, the U.S. dollar softened, with the dollar index falling to 98.7, its lowest in over a week.
Bitcoin BTC/USD fell 1.3% to $104,000, continuing its pullback from recent highs.
Monday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs
| Major Indices | Price | 1-day %Chg |
| Nasdaq 100 | 21,375.40 | 0.2% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,062.80 | -0.1 % |
| S&P 500 | 5,902.74 | -0.2% |
| Dow Jones | 42,044.33 | -0.5% |
According to Benzinga Pro data:
- The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY flattened at $589.38.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA eased 0.4% to $421.10.
- The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ rose 0.2% to $520.50.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM was unchanged at $205.15.
- The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE outperformed, up 1.4%; the Industrials Select Sector SPDR Fund XLI lagged, down 0.8%.
Monday’s Stock Movers
- Boeing Co. BA was up 0.9% by midday trading. Bank of America analyst Ronald Epstein upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target to a Street-high $260.
- Stocks reacting to earnings reports included The Campbell’s Company CPB and Science Applications International Corporation SAIC down 0.6% and 14%, respectively.
- The top three performers in the S&P 500 were commodity-linked stocks, with Steel Dynamics STLD surging 9.6%, Nucor Corp. NUE rising 8.1% and Newmont Corp. NEM gaining 5.5%.
Read Next:
Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.