The US stocks, affected as they are by the current trade situation between the country and China, have closed higher on Monday. Market Watch reported that this was courtesy of the strong gains of social media and entertainment shares.
Facebook and Netflix rallied strongly as investors are left waiting for the results of the Federal Reserve's policy-setting meeting.
The Federal Reserve is the focus for most of the week, with markets pricing more than two interest rate cuts this year. The fears of the global trade tensions weighed heavily on those cuts, as well as the current state of a slowdown in the economy. Investors are waiting to see if those are matching up with what the Federal Reserve is going to incorporate in this week's meeting, although no move on interest rates are expected to happen.
Manufacturing might be one of the topics discussed during the meeting. This week, it showed "the largest-ever" drop into the negative territory. The Empire State manufacturing index posted ratings of a record-plummet to 26.4 points, which ended in a negative 8.6 rating in June. Economists painted a different picture, however, with positive 10 the expected value.
In Europe, stocks reacted by closing marginally higher as well. It all hinged on the Fed meeting, according to CNBC, and on the fact that US banks are going to cut interest rates. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed just barely above the flatline with sectors and other major areas moving towards opposite directions.
Lufthansa stocks complicated things after it issued a profit warning, dragging airline stocks along with it. Its shares fell down by 12% and caused Germany's DAX to go into the red. Air France KLM and EasyJet were both affected, dropping down to 4%. Despite that, the show continued for Airbus, which introduced a new plane, and Boeing unveiling the 737 Max.
One of the biggest news of all came from US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who said that US president Donald Trump will continue with the tariff imposition on about $300 billion of Chinese imports if the two sides fail to come to an agreement. It was revealed through the statement that other tariffs will also happen, such as ones slapped on European imports.
Social media and real estate seem willing and able to pick up the slack, however. Facebook, Netflix, and even Dish Network Corp. continued to post positive results at the expense of other tariff-affected shares.
