U.S. stock index futures dipped on Monday after President Donald Trump announced plans to double tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, amplifying concerns about trade- and tariff-related volatility.
Market Snapshot
At 7:50 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 94 points, or 0.22%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 19.5 points, or 0.33%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 103 points, or 0.48%.
Pre-Market Movers
Cleveland-Cliffs shares soared 27% in premarket trading, Steel Dynamics, Nucor jumped 10% after President Donald Trump announced he would raise tariffs on imported steel to 50% from 25%, saying the move would strengthen the domestic steel industry. He made the announcement late Friday at a rally near Pittsburgh celebrating a $14 billion deal between U.S. Steel and Japan's Nippon Steel. U.S. Steel shares were down 0.9%.
Tesla declined 1.7% in premarket trading after Chinese electric-vehicle companies posted another strong month of growth in May. U.S.-listed shares of Li Auto fell 1.4% after the company delivered 40,856 vehicles in May, up 17% from a year earlier. XPeng saw deliveries jump 230% from last year to 33,525. The stock fell 0.9%. NIO's deliveries rose 13% to 23,231 vehicles in May. NIO shares were up 1.4%.
Blueprint Medicines jumped 27% to $128.70 after France's Sanofi reached a deal to buy the immunology-disease specialist for up to $9.5 billion. Sanofi will pay $129 a share in cash at closing and a contingent value right that will entitle Blueprint Medicines shareholders to receive up to $6 a share subject to certain development and regulatory milestones.
Rare Earth stocks rallied in premarket trading. USA Rare Earth up 8%; MP Materials up 5%; NioCorp Developments up 4%; The Metals, Energy Fuels up 2%. Last week CNN reported that China appeared to be maintaining tight control over its rare-earth exports despite the 90-day trade-war truce agreed to with the U.S. Keeping control gives China leverage in talks, as the elements are widely used in a variety of products including cellphones, electric vehicles and defense equipment.
Drone maker companies rallied in premarket trading. Unusual Machines up 12%; Red Cat up 7%; Ondas Holdings up 9%. Unusual Machines announced its participation in the ‘2025 Virtual Tech Conference: Discover the Innovations Reshaping Tomorrow,’ organized by Maxim Group LLC, scheduled for June 3-5, 2025. The company’s CEO, Allan Evans, will present on June 3, focusing on how emerging technologies like Quantum Computing and AI are shaping the future.
Moderna rose 4.6% after the Food and Drug Administration approved a new Covid-19 vaccine, mNexspike, for use in adults 65 and older or people aged 12 to 64 years with at least one or more underlying coronavirus risk factor.
Boeing shares were up 1.4% to $210.12 after BofA Securities raised its rating on Boeing to Buy from Hold and boosted the stock's price target to $260 -- the highest target price on Wall Street, according to FactSet - from $185.
Gold stocks shined in premarket trading. Gold Fields, Harmony Gold, Anglogold Ashanti up more than 3%; Barrick Mining Corporation, Newmont Mining up more than 1%.
Gold prices jumped on Monday as an escalation in the Russian war in Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump's fresh threat to double tariffs on imported steel and aluminium prompted investors to seek refuge in safe-haven bullion. Spot gold was up 2% at $3,355.34 an ounce. U.S. gold futures rose 2% to $3,382.2.
Market News
Oil Prices Surge as OPEC+ Supply Boost Vies With Geopolitical Risk
Oil advanced after OPEC+ increased production less than some had feared and geopolitical concerns flared over Ukraine and Iran.
Brent crude futures up 3.68% at $65.09 a barrel and WTI Crude oil futures up 4.1% at $63.27 a barrel.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies agreed on Saturday to add 411,000 barrels a day of supply in July, but there were objections from some members including Russia. With a handful of countries lobbying for a pause in July, banks are now split on how many more hikes will come in subsequent months.
Meta Aims to Fully Automate Ad Creation Using AI
Meta Platforms is betting that automation is the future of ads.
The social-media company aims to enable brands to fully create and target ads using artificial intelligence by the end of next year, according to people familiar with the matter.
Meta’s ad platform already offers some AI tools that can generate variations of existing ads and make minor changes to them before targeting the ads to users on Facebook and Instagram. Now, the company aims to help brands create advertising concepts from scratch.
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