European stocks rise.
European stocks edged higher Wednesday as investors assessed the possibility of global trade deals as well as the likelihood of further central bank monetary easing.
At 03:02 ET (07:02 GMT), the DAX index in Germany gained 0.3%, the CAC 40 in France climbed 0.6% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. rose 0.4%.
Optimism over potential trade deals
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he won’t extend the July 9 deadline for countries to finalize trade agreements with the U.S., signalling that if no deal is reached by then, affected nations will receive formal letters outlining the tariff rates they will face.
That said, investors have been buoyed of late by the expectation that a series of trade deals will be agreed by next week’s deadline, particularly after last week’s announcement that the U.S. had finalized a trade deal with China.
The European Commission, which is negotiating on behalf of the EU, is reportedly set to put forward a range of demands during meetings with the Trump administration this week.
Oil prices little changed.
Oil futures were little changed on Wednesday as markets weighed expectations from more supply from major producers next month, a softer U.S. dollar and a mixed bag of economic and market indicators from the U.S., the world’s largest oil consumer.
Brent crude slipped 4 cents to $67.07 a barrel at 0618 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 9 cents to $65.36 a barrel.
Brent has traded between a high of $69.05 a barrel and low of $66.34 since June 25, as concerns of supply disruptions in the Middle East producing region have ebbed following the ceasefire between Iran and Israel.
Weighing on prices, sources said American Petroleum Institute data late on Tuesday showed {{8849|U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 680,000 barrels in the past week at a time when stockpiles typically draw amid the summer demand season.
“Today’s oil price moves are being pushed by the interplay of potentially rising OPEC+ supply, confusing U.S. inventory signals, uncertain geopolitical outlook, and macro-policy ambiguity,” said Phillip Nova senior market analyst Priyanka Sachdeva.
Bitcoin price today muted at $106k.
Bitcoin fell slightly on Wednesday, extending its rangebound performance as persistent uncertainty over U.S. trade deals and the impact of a sweeping tax bill continued to weigh on risk appetite.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency remained squarely within a $103,000 to $108,000 trading range seen through most of June, with recent buying by major corporate holder Strategy, formerly Microstrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), doing little to stimulate prices.
Bitcoin fell 0.6% to $106,321.4 by 01:14 ET (05:14 GMT). While the coin was still sitting on a 3.5% gain from June, it struggled to break out of a recent trading range.
Trade deals, tax bill uncertainty weighs
Crypto markets tracked rangebound performances in broader risk-driven assets, as uncertainty over U.S. trade tariffs grew before President Donald Tump’s July 9 deadline for trade deals.
Washington has signed a limited number of trade deals with major economies so far, sparking concerns that Trump will impose the full brunt of his “liberation day” tariffs against U.S. trading partners.
Trump on Tuesday flagged a potential deal with India, but also threatened higher tariffs against Japan.
On the fiscal front, the U.S. Senate on Tuesday narrowly voted in favor of a controversial tax and spending cut bill, sending it to the House of Representatives for a final vote.
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