US stocks close higher despite trade headwinds

U.S. stocks closed higher on Monday, as investors appeared to look past renewed global trade tensions.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 35.41 points, or 0.08 percent, to 42,305.48. The Standard and Poor's 500 added 24.25 points, or 0.41 percent, to 5,935.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 128.85 points, or 0.67 percent, to 19,242.61.

Ten of the 11 primary Standard and Poor's 500 sectors ended in green, with energy and technology leading the gainers by adding 1.15 percent and 0.89 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, industrials bucked the trend by losing 0.24 percent.

The U.S. manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for May, published by the Institute for Supply Management, dropped to 48.5, hitting a new low since November of last year, marking the third consecutive month in contraction.

Against the backdrop of significant increases in the U.S. tariffs, the import index fell to its lowest level since 2009.

U.S. manufacturers are facing challenges of rising raw material costs and extended delivery times due to the tariff policies. Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar index quickly fell, dropping to a six-week low at one point.

In Europe, as investors were focused on the prospects of U.S.-EU trade negotiations, The European Union warned that if no agreement is reached, it may resort to countermeasures ahead of schedule.

Due to the uncertainty of tariff policies, automotive stocks fell. Stellantis dropped nearly 4.8 percent, Mercedes-Benz sagged about 2.7 percent, and BMW saw a decline of over 2.4 percent.

Europe's three major stock indices showed mixed results on Monday.

In the crude oil futures market, the potential escalation and spread of conflicts in Eastern Europe and the upcoming peak travel season in the Northern Hemisphere have spawn optimism about the short-term prospects for oil demand, leading to a significant rise in international oil prices on Monday.

The West Texas Intermediate for July delivery went up 1.73 U.S. dollars, or 2.85 percent, to settle at 62.52 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for August delivery increased 1.85 dollars, or 2.95 percent, to settle at 64.63 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

In the precious metals futures market, the ongoing geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe, along with the U.S. government's fluctuating tariff policies and potential surge in fiscal deficits, fueled a rise in market risk aversion.

These factors led to a significant increase in international gold prices on Monday, with prices briefly jumping above the 3,400 dollars per ounce mark during intraday trading.

US stocks close higher despite trade headwinds

US stocks close higher despite trade headwinds

China's development has never been a "threat" to anyone but the source of growth advancing common development of all countries, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular press conference in Beijing on Friday.

Some Western media and think tanks are peddling so-called "China Shock 2.0," saying that "China is achieving fast development in high-tech sectors such as renewable energy and AI and relies on foreign markets to absorb its overcapacity, thus reducing the market share of developed countries and sending more serious shock waves to the global economy compared with the era of traditional manufacture industry," while there are foreign commentators saying that the "China Shock 2.0" argument ignores the genuine innovation occurring within the Chinese industrial ecosystem and that Chinese export is the exact booster of the global economy that is needed in the turbulent period and more indispensable than ever.

Commenting on that, Lin said: "From the world's factory to the world's market and innovation powerhouse, China's development is achieved through strong performance driven by innovation and brings tangible cooperation opportunities and space to the world. High-quality Chinese products represented by the 'old three' of textiles, furniture and home appliances have stabilized the global industrial and supply chain, lowered the living cost of global consumers and eased the inflationary pressure worldwide. China's green production capacity represented by the 'new three' of electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels has bridged the gap between supply and demand in global green development and bolstered the global energy transition and low-carbon development. Moreover, China's high-tech products represented by the 'new new three' of robots, AI and innovative drugs have broken high-tech barriers and monopoly and enabled people in more countries to access affordable new technologies," said the spokesman.

"Openness and cooperation bring about progress and win-win result. China's development has never been a 'threat' to anyone but the source of growth advancing common development of all countries. What really creates 'shocks' to the world has never been the innovation of Chinese companies and efficiency of Chinese industrial capacity, but protectionist moves of setting up barriers, decoupling and severing industrial and supply chains. China will stay committed to high-standard opening up, defend the multilateral trading system and provide more certainty and new impetus to the world economy with its own steady development," said Lin.

China's development never a threat: FM spokesman