Subscribe to receive these charts every morning!

1. Signs of further momentum in US-China trade talks could give the markets a fresh boost.

Wall Street stocks had closed sharply higher last week after the closely watched monthly U.S. jobs data eased concerns about damage to the world's biggest economy from Trump's unpredictable tariff regime.

Attention now turns to U.S. inflation data on Wednesday that may adjust expectations for the timing of any rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The Fed is in a blackout period ahead of its June 18 policy decision.

"Markets have entered a tactical pause following a strong May, but beneath the surface, fragilities are building," said Bruno Schneller, managing director at Erlen Capital Management, noting that the U.S. CPI release is expected to show another rise, signaling that inflation remains sticky.

The US benchmark topped the 6,000 point mark on Friday for the first time since February, and investors are looking for catalysts to sustain recent gains. That could come from a breakthrough in trade talks.

Citi, meanwhile, raised its year-end S&P 500 target to 6,300 from 5,800, citing structural bullishness on US large cap stocks.

2. The UK may offer some of the least demanding valuations in global equities.

The FTSE 100 is up 8% this year, trailing the 11% notched by the euro-area benchmark Euro Stoxx 50. It’s also far behind stellar rallies in the DAX and the IBEX, both up more than 20%.

The FTSE 100 remains among the cheapest major benchmarks, offering a discount of 40% to the S&P 500 and 13% to the Euro Stoxx 50 based on forward P/E ratios. “The UK is a good place to position in, as it shows a record valuation discount vs other regions, as well as the highest dividend yield globally,” say JPMorgan strategists led by Mislav Matejka. “The UK is comparatively less trade sensitive, and we think that it could show another positive spell of performance if volatility returns.”

3. Apple did not answer the existential question about its future.

Apple announced changes and products that seem marginally interesting at best, and decorative at worst.

The bigger issue is that Apple’s current AI tools don’t offer experiences that are notably different from what you can get elsewhere.

“I think it’s becoming clearer how far behind they (Apple) are in AI,” Deepwater Asset Management managing partner Gene Munster told CNN.

There’s also a growing belief in the tech industry that some new type of device could one day supplant, or at least partially replace, the smartphone. And those devices, unsurprisingly, will largely run on AI.

Companies like Google, Samsung and Meta are investing in smart glasses with built-in digital assistants that can identify objects in a person’s environment as a potential successor to the smartphone.

Here is a peer analysis.

4. Julius Baer expects Indian stocks to regain last year’s high on consumption rebound.

1Q25 GDP growth rose sharply from an upwardly-revised 6.4% in 4Q24 to print at 7.4%, significantly above consensus expectations.

5. Shares of companies that provide infrastructure for artificial-intelligence development are soaring after a tumble earlier this year, as spending from Big Tech restores investor confidence in the volatile sector.

Individual standouts include Vertiv Holdings Co., which has notched a 94% gain since April 4, as well as Constellation Energy Corp., up 75% in that same period.

Helping drive those moves is evidence that the world’s largest technology companies — including Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta Platforms — are continuing to spend big on artificial intelligence, assuaging doubts over whether money will continue flowing to the firms that are essential to AI infrastructure.

Forecasts for capital expenditures to support AI demand are up by 16% since the beginning of the year, according to Bloomberg Intelligence’s Robert Schiffman.

“Earnings season reminded investors that generative-AI doesn’t run on buzzwords — it runs on concrete, copper and gigawatts,” said Dave Mazza, chief executive officer of Roundhill Financial Inc.

Not a subscriber yet?