By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks followed their European counterparts lower amid a chip-driven tech selloff on Tuesday as a flare-up of Middle East tensions sent crude prices higher.
I will go into more detail on today's market moves below. If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets today.
1. The U.S. trade balance widened in May by 42.1% to $77.6 billion, or $900,000 narrower than analysts expected
2. New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said he has grown less worried about inflation due to energy price declines
3. Two tankers were hit in the Strait of Hormuz as crowds throng streets of Qom on fifth day of mourning over Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
4. Meta Platforms announced it is rolling out Muse Image, its first AI image generation model as the Facebook parent expands generative AI tools across its apps
5. Nigel Farage, leader of the populist Reform UK Party, announced he was standing down to fight accusations of failing to report millions of pounds worth of gifts
Today's Key Market Moves
• STOCKS: Wall St. main stock indexes end lower, Nasdaq off most; Europe's STOXX 600 dragged down by tech selloff
• SECTORS/SHARES: Industrials, tech suffer biggest pct losses; energy leads gainers; Semiconductors dip 4.7%
• FX: The dollar inched higher as the yen held near its 40-year low; traders on intervention watch
• BONDS: Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields touched a four-week peak as investors monitored geopolitical tensions
• COMMODITIES/METALS: Front-month WTI and Brent crude futures settled up 2.8% and 3.0% respectively; gold drops on rising Middle East tensions
Today's Talking Points
* Le Pen's conviction upheld, path opened for 2027 presidential run
A French appeals court has upheld far-right leader Marine Le Pen's conviction for misuse of public funds, but shortened her ban from running for public office.
While the ruling will require Le Pen to wear an electronic ankle tag, which could complicate campaign logistics, her anti-immigrant National Rally (RN) is leading in polls less than a year before centrist President Emmanuel Macron is due to step down.
* Brokers bullish as SpaceX enters Nasdaq 100
SpaceX's addition to the Nasdaq 100 on Tuesday is expected to unleash billions of dollars in passive buying as brokers initiate coverage of the $2 trillion-plus rocket and satellite company with largely bullish views.
The company's inclusion in the index comes less than a month after its stock market debut on June 12. While SpaceX's stock price is up 10.7% from its $135 offer price, it has lost 7.7% so far this week.
* US eliminated from World Cup, storm over Trump's interference clouds the tournament
The United States was bumped from contention in a stinging 4-1 defeat to Belgium in a match overshadowed by charges of political interference by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Those allegations arose after Trump pressed Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, to review a red-card ban on Folarin Balogun, the leading U.S. goal scorer.
Infantino maintained that FIFA's decision was "independent."
What could move markets tomorrow?
• Developments in the Middle East
• Energy market moves
• Social media posts from Trump
• Minutes from U.S. Federal Reserve's June meeting
• Yen intervention
• Netherlands consumer spending (May)
• Sweden household consumption (May)
• Sweden CPI (June)
• Sweden GDP (May)
• Sweden new orders and production (May)
• Norway manufacturing output (May)
• U.S. consumer credit (May)
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Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
