Investors are paying attention to Trump tariffs again.
Traders return from a summer weekend with one hand over their eyes as tariff fears ratchet higher. President Trump has threatened 30% tariffs on Mexico and the European Union. We are only 17 days away from his Aug. 1 tariff deadline, and the market is starting to wake up to the reality that the president is all in here on this strategy.
“Trump is under less pressure to back down with US risk markets around their highs and bond markets relatively stable at the moment,” Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid said.
Here is everything we touched on during Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid on Monday. Tune in live daily to Opening Bid at 9:30 a.m. ET.
1. The bitcoin moment
Coinbase (COIN) shares are up 80% over the past year! The stock is getting another bid today as bitcoin prices hit a record of $120,000 and crypto week kicks off in D.C. Legislators will begin debating key crypto legislation, notably the GENIUS Act, that could be favorable to the industry.
“I think regulation will be a huge boon for crypto,” Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong recently told me. “I mean, we think that that’s how we expand the total addressable market of crypto. And frankly, that’s why a lot of people are now coming into crypto because they’re seeing that regulatory clarity is on the horizon.”
Experts say the crypto complex has come a long way, and the assets should be considered a Hold going into strength.
“Bitcoin will be around $125,000. I wouldn’t necessarily get out, but I would certainly be looking at holding it,” Michele Schneider, director of trading education and research at MarketGauge, said on Opening Bid.
Read more about crypto moves and today’s market action.
2. The tariff man had a weekend
President Trump has threatened 30% tariffs on the European Union and Mexico starting Aug. 1. Mexico and EU leaders said they would continue to negotiate with the Trump administration this month before that date.
Trump’s renewed tariff push is slowly beginning to chip away at the optimism that has powered stocks to record highs — with an emphasis on “slowly,” as investors still believe corporate America is weathering the trade storm well.
“It’s virtually impossible overnight [to move supply chains]. It takes a long time to set up anywhere,” Reebok founder Joe Foster told me in a new episode of the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast.
Foster’s comments echo the frustrations of many top execs amid Trump’s tariff barrage.
Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump’s tariffs
3. Those Wall Street bulls
Another Wall Street firm is lifting its S&P 500 (^GSPC) outlook.
RBC Capital Markets strategist Lori Calvasina increased her year-end S&P 500 price target to 6,250. But unlike more bullish calls this month from Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, Calvasina is only Neutral on stocks in the second half of the year. She said she sees “choppy conditions” for stocks as the year winds down.
4. Bring on the earnings
The earnings blitz begins this week after Delta (DAL) and Levi’s (LEVI) gave investors a small taste of the storm last week.
JPMorgan (JPM), BNY (BNY), Wells Fargo (WFC), Bank of America (BAC), and Citi (C) all report earnings on Tuesday. Later in the week, we’ll get results from Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), Netflix (NFLX), PepsiCo (PEP), and American Express (AXP).
The bar has been set surprisingly high for earnings season following well-received reports from Delta and Levi’s. So far, 71% of S&P 500 companies have reported a positive earnings per share surprise, and 81% have reported a positive revenue surprise, according to FactSet.
“I would say the earnings outlook remains quite robust,” Krishna Memani, the chief investment officer of Lafayette College, said. “And the fact that we are beginning this week with financials, I think financials are probably going to have gangbuster earnings. So I think that’s a good setup for the market.”
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance’s Executive Editor and a member of Yahoo Finance’s editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.
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