Stocks are popping and oil is dropping in early trading. Gold and silver are mixed, while Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are rising notably. The dollar is flat, while Treasury yields are retreating a bit.
Washington will be in focus this week as Chinese President Xi Jinping is conducting an official state visit. He will land Wednesday, have dinner with President Trump on Thursday, then tour the US National Archives Friday before heading back to China. Advance talks on AI, tariffs, and other issues reportedly went well over the weekend – helping give stocks a boost to start off the week. Still, the iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI) has had a rough year, losing about 13%.
iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI)
Source: TradingView
Meanwhile, crude oil prices are finally giving back some ground consistently. Brent futures were down about 3% recently, the fourth decline in a row. Oil hasn’t fallen that many consecutive days since mid-June. A US military official said that oil, gas, and cargo flows through the Strait of Hormuz recently hit a six-month high, helping fuel the decline. Traders are also pricing in the possibility that US and Iranian officials could meet at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly.
Officials at Paramount Skydance Corp. (PSKY) and Warner Bros Discovery Inc. (WBD) met with representatives of the states suing to block their merger in an attempt to find common ground. The states opposed the $81 billion merger because of antitrust and job-related concerns, which the companies are trying to ease by implementing concessions and promising to invest $1.5 billion in California-based productions. Paramount stock is down 23.8% year-to-date, while Warner stock is off 2.4%.
Lastly, could Oura Inc. be the next red-hot Initial Public Offering (IPO)? The health and fitness ring company filed for an IPO today, saying it would sell 50 million shares for $40 to $44. If it achieves the high end of the range, the firm would raise $2.2 billion. Its total valuation would be $14.1 billion – up from the $11 billion it was valued at in a 2025 private fundraising.
