Morning Digest: Trump Hints At ‘Very Big' India-US Trade Deal & Other Top Stories
US and India can close a 'big' trade deal before July 9 and other top stories you need to know.
☀️Good Morning, India!
From US President Donald Trump teasing a big India trade deal to space-bound 'Gajar Halwa' and monsoon dreams in Udaipur, here's your daily dose of top news.
Just days after finalising a deal with China, Donald Trump hinted at a 'very big" trade deal with India. The deal could land before July 9. 🔗 Read more
🚀 Gajar Ka Halwa In Space! Shubhanshu Shukla Reaches ISS
Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla has reached the International Space Station (ISS), carrying mango nectar and gajar halwa to keep a taste of home close. 🔗 Find out more
First Published:
June 27, 2025, 09:49 IST
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India Today
10 minutes ago
- India Today
India-US trade deal stalemate continues, talks to resume in August: Sources
Negotiations between India and the US on a crucial trade pact remain at an impasse, with talks now expected to resume when a delegation from Washington visits Delhi in the second week of August, sources two nations are aiming to finalise a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by September or October. The latest round of talks, the fifth, saw the Indian negotiators in Washington attempting to break a deadlock over duties on auto components, steel, and agricultural products. These issues have emerged as key sticking points in the drawn-out the discussions remained inconclusive, and the Indian delegation returned home just days before US President Donald Trump's August 1 tariff pause deadline rolls around. Talks hit a snag after India drew a red line and refused to yield to US demands on agricultural access, particularly in the dairy sector, which employs more than 80 million Indians, many of them smallholder previously said that while the two countries were close to sealing a deal by the end of June, discussions fell apart before the July 9 deadline set by Trump. India's stand on protecting its dairy sector was a key reason the talks failed to cross the finish meanwhile, has repeatedly claimed that the BTA with India is almost done deal. Yet, he has also warned of sweeping new tariffs on imports from multiple countries, including members of the Brics bloc, of which India is a week, the US President reiterated that Brics nations could face 10 per cent tariffs if they dare to go the de-dollarization way. He also warned of 100 per cent duties on Russian goods and hinted at slapping secondary sanctions on countries buying Russian oil. India, the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels, could be majorly impacted if such measures are at least 14 countries have received formal notices from Washington about impending tariffs ranging from 25 per cent to 40 per cent, India has not received such a letter. This has given hope that negotiations are still alive, albeit under growing outcome of the August round of talks may determine whether India can avoid punishing tariffs as high as 500 per cent and secure a long-pending trade pact with Washington, one that has remained elusive despite repeated assurances from both governments.- Ends
Time of India
27 minutes ago
- Time of India
U.S. stock market hits fresh record highs—Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq climb, driven by Verizon, Block, Cleveland‑Cliffs gains
US Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq edge higher as investors brace for Big Tech earnings and Trump tariffs- US Stock market today opened the week on a positive note as Wall Street cautiously stepped into a Big Tech-heavy earnings season, while also watching for signs of escalation around President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained 0.7%, continuing last week's strong performance driven by growth and tech stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was up nearly 0.4% as Monday's trading session closed. With earnings season heating up and trade policy becoming more uncertain, investors are juggling optimism and caution. Reports from Alphabet (GOOG) and Tesla (TSLA) later this week are set to dominate headlines, while tensions between the US and EU over trade agreements remain unresolved. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Digital Marketing CXO Artificial Intelligence Degree Data Science Product Management Public Policy Operations Management MBA Others others Design Thinking Data Science healthcare Technology Leadership MCA PGDM Data Analytics Cybersecurity Project Management Healthcare Management Skills you'll gain: Digital Marketing Strategies Customer Journey Mapping Paid Advertising Campaign Management Emerging Technologies in Digital Marketing Duration: 12 Weeks Indian School of Business Digital Marketing and Analytics Starts on May 14, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Digital Marketing Strategy Search Engine Optimization (SEO) & Content Marketing Social Media Marketing & Advertising Data Analytics & Measurement Digital Marketing Strategy Search Engine Optimization (SEO) & Content Marketing Social Media Marketing & Advertising Data Analytics & Measurement Duration: 24 Weeks Indian School of Business Professional Certificate Programme in Digital Marketing Starts on Jun 26, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Digital Marketing Strategy Search Engine Optimization (SEO) & Content Marketing Social Media Marketing & Advertising Data Analytics & Measurement Duration: 24 Weeks Indian School of Business Professional Certificate Programme in Digital Marketing Starts on Jun 26, 2024 Get Details How did the US stock market perform today? S&P 500 rose approximately 0.3–0.5% , reaching a new all-time high near 6,315 . Nasdaq Composite jumped around 0.5–0.7% , also setting a fresh record above 21,000 . Dow Jones Industrial Average gained modestly, about 0.1–0.4% , settling just below its all‑time peak. Is Wall Street's confidence still rooted in Big Tech earnings? As the second-quarter earnings season ramps up, all eyes are on Alphabet and Tesla, the first of the so-called "Magnificent Seven" to report results. These earnings will be critical in justifying the current high valuations of tech stocks, especially with investor sentiment so closely tied to the AI boom. Out of the 59 S&P 500 companies that have already posted their Q2 results, a striking 86% have beaten Wall Street estimates, according to Bloomberg. While this beat rate is historically impressive, it's worth noting that expectations were modest to begin with. Any strong performance from Alphabet or Tesla this week could reinforce investor confidence in continued tech sector dominance. What's driving today's stock market rally? Several key catalysts are powering the bullish sentiment across Wall Street: Live Events Strong corporate earnings : Verizon, Cleveland-Cliffs, and Block all reported better-than-expected results, pushing their stocks sharply higher. Tech optimism : Investors are gearing up for big earnings from Alphabet and Tesla this week. Trade relief hopes : Speculation is rising that the U.S. and EU could strike a deal ahead of the August 1 tariff deadline , easing global trade tensions. Falling Treasury yields : The 10-year yield has eased to around 4.37% , which is boosting appetite for equities, especially in tech. Are Trump's new tariffs shaking global trade confidence? Tensions are rising on the trade front, especially between the United States and the European Union. With President Trump's August 1 tariff deadline fast approaching, concerns about a breakdown in negotiations are growing. The EU, according to Bloomberg, is now open to a slightly imbalanced deal just to avoid new US tariffs. However, resistance within EU member states and Trump's tougher public stance are slowing progress. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over the weekend described the August 1 deadline as a 'hard stop' for compliance, though he added that conversations may continue even past that point. These mixed signals are keeping global investors on edge. How are consumer companies holding up in this volatile market? Domino's Pizza (DPZ) offered a rare bright spot outside tech on Monday. The company's Q2 sales beat estimates, driven by strong customer interest in its new product lineup. Despite the broader uncertainty around tariffs and consumer sentiment, Domino's showed resilience, helping to steady the consumer discretionary sector for the day. Verizon Communications (VZ) and Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) also released updates Monday, but the focus clearly remained on upcoming tech reports and global trade developments. Who are the top stock market gainers today? Here are some of Monday's biggest winners on Wall Street: Block (SQ) : 📈 Surged +8.3% after being selected to join the S&P 500 index. Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) : 📈 Gained +7.4% after a strong earnings beat. Verizon (VZ) : 📈 Rose +3.3% thanks to upbeat Q2 earnings and raised full-year guidance. Meta Platforms (META) : 📈 Added over +2% amid strong rotation into big tech. Who are the biggest stock losers today? While most of the market is green, a few notable names are under pressure: Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) : 🔻 Fell -2.2% after the FDA halted its gene therapy trial due to safety issues. Domino's Pizza (DPZ) : 🔻 Slid -1.6% despite beating sales estimates—investors were spooked by weaker profits. Microsoft (MSFT) : 🔻 Down slightly at -0.6% , following some minor tech pullbacks. What else is moving on Wall Street? CoreWeave : ⚡ Up around +3% amid AI enthusiasm. Robinhood (HOOD), Roblox (RBLX), MercadoLibre (MELI) : 👎 All slipped 2–3% , weighed down by disappointing updates and sector rotation. Within Dow Jones components: Apple (AAPL) : 📈 Up +0.7% American Express (AXP) : 📈 Gained +0.4% Microsoft (MSFT) : 🔻 Down slightly Domino's Pizza (DPZ) Domino's Pizza (DPZ) surged after reporting stronger-than-expected Q2 sales , driven by the success of new menu items and solid customer demand. The earnings beat helped boost investor confidence , despite broader market uncertainty around tariffs. Stock Movement: DPZ jumped over 5% during the session. Highlight: Strong product innovation offset macroeconomic concerns. Are markets getting too excited too soon? The market's current strength — especially in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq — is raising questions about whether valuations have run ahead of fundamentals. The AI-led rally has pushed many tech stocks near or past all-time highs. Investors will be watching this week's earnings closely to see if results truly back up the excitement. Some analysts worry that this stretch is starting to resemble past tech bubbles, though others argue that actual earnings and real-world AI adoption are finally catching up with investor enthusiasm. Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) was among the worst performers after its quarterly report missed Wall Street expectations , with pressure from weaker steel demand and rising input costs. The stock faced additional drag from concerns over future tariff impacts on the commodities and manufacturing sector. Stock Movement: CLF fell by more than 4% on the day. Highlight: Disappointing earnings and tariff exposure hit investor sentiment. What should investors watch this week? With Alphabet and Tesla reporting Wednesday, followed by more Magnificent Seven companies later in the season, earnings data will shape the narrative. Beyond that, the looming August 1 trade deadline and any updates from the White House on tariffs will be key. So far, strong corporate results have offset global concerns — but that balance could quickly shift if Big Tech disappoints or trade talks break down. Investors are advised to stay alert and watch both earnings numbers and geopolitical headlines as they unfold. The stock market today is riding a wave of optimism from early earnings results and hopes that trade talks won't derail the rally. But with crucial tech updates and global tensions ahead, this week could set the tone for the rest of the quarter. FAQs: Q: What moved the stock market today? A: Gains in Big Tech stocks and tariff concerns pushed markets slightly higher. Q: Why are Alphabet and Tesla earnings important this week? A: They're the first major tech firms reporting and could impact overall market direction.
Time of India
40 minutes ago
- Time of India
Chinese car giants rush into Brazil with dreams of dominating a continent
A two-hour drive beyond the traffic jams of São Paulo, past the vast valleys of sugar cane, one of the first Chinese battery-powered car factories in the Americas is getting ready to open. Its goal is to reinvent the way Brazil drives, and ultimately, the rest of Latin America, much as Chinese automakers have already done across much of Asia and want to do in Europe. Until recently, this factory was run by Mercedes-Benz, the German giant of 20th century automotive innovation that churned out cars powered by gasoline. Today, it's owned by Great Wall Motor, a company that is now one of China's leading exporters of stylish, affordable electric vehicles. The change in hands reflects a profound disruption for one of the world's most vital industries. If American and European gas-guzzling cars once dominated global tastes and trends, that era appears to be fast turning to China's favor. Today, not only does China make and export more cars of all types than any other country in the world, Chinese firms dominate the global manufacture of battery-powered vehicles of the future. They also control the supply chain for virtually everything that goes into those cars. China's EV s are among the most advanced in the world. Some today go as far on a single charge as top-of-the-line Teslas, at lower prices. One Chinese carmaker, BYD, short for Build Your Dreams, has developed technology that can deliver a full charge in just five minutes. Little wonder that Tesla sales in China are lagging, and that the United States, under both Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump , have essentially banned Chinese car imports. For China, that leaves the rest of the world. Its electric and hybrid manufacturers have set up, or are in the process of setting up, factories in Hungary, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand and Turkey. These efforts, including Great Wall's Brazilian factory, are part of a globe-spanning campaign by China to seize a major share of the world's auto industry, a powerful source of revenues, jobs and also national prestige. Western auto giants are alarmed. "We are in a global competition with China," Jim Farley, the CEO of Ford Motor Co., said at the Aspen Ideas conference in June. "It's not just EVs. And if we lose this, we do not have a future at Ford." Great Wall Motor took over the Mercedes plant in the industrial town of Iracemápolis, near São Paulo, after the German carmaker closed shop in 2021, blaming a slump in luxury car sales. BYD took over a Ford factory after years of poor sales and steep losses forced the U.S. car giant to end its long history of manufacturing in Brazil. Farley at the time called the closures "difficult but necessary actions." Ford had assembled cars in Brazil for a century, starting with the Model T. "For the first time in decades, we're seeing a real challenge to the dominance of American and European brands, not just in terms of market share, but in shaping the future of mobility," said Natalie Unterstell , president of a climate research and advocacy organization called Talanoa Institute, based in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil, the world's sixth largest car market, is trying to take advantage of it, instead of being steamrolled. It's prodding companies, no matter where they're from, to make cars on Brazilian soil, the less polluting the better, while also imposing steadily rising tariffs on imports. It hasn't all been smooth sailing. There have been union clashes over Chinese labor practices. But the government's overall message: If you want access to our car buyers, then come and create factories and factory jobs here. "We don't want to be an importer of technologies produced in other countries only," said Rafael Dubeux , special adviser to the Finance Ministry, in an interview in Brazil's capital, Brasília. "We also want to take advantage of this profound change in the world, in manufacturing facilities, so that Brazil also has a part in the value chains that we think are the ones that will prevail." At least three Chinese firms are opening assembly plants in Brazil. In addition to Great Wall Motor and BYD, another Chinese automaker, Chery, has teamed up with a Brazilian company, Caoa, to produce cars in central Goias state. Nevertheless, Marcio Lima Leite, head of the Brazil automaker association, remains worried. The new Chinese auto plants are mainly assembling cars with components imported from China, including the most valuable component, batteries. That, he said, will not advance the industry in Brazil. "It's very important to have competitiveness in Brazil, to produce the new technology in Brazil," he said. Chinese carmakers have had to bend to local needs in important ways. In Brazil, that means the needs of the powerful ethanol industry. Ethanol is produced from the country's huge sugar cane crop, and Brazilian law requires every liter of gasoline to be a little more than 25% ethanol. So the auto companies aren't just making fully electric cars in Brazil. They are also having to make hybrids that run partly on the gas-ethanol blend and partly on batteries. "We need to produce what customers are looking for," said Marcio Renato Alfonso , a Brazilian who worked for an American carmaker for many years and is now Great Wall's director of research and development for Brazil. "High technology with an affordable price." Along Henry Ford Avenue in the industrial city of Camaçari, what was once a Ford factory is now becoming a BYD factory. This had been Ford's newest plant. Every day, starting in 2001, it churned out hundreds of gas-powered cars. It employed some 5,000 workers. It also lost huge amounts of money. In 2021, the Ford plant shut down. "It was a shock," said Júlio Bonfim, who was president of the metal workers union at the factory. "I imagined my son would also work at the plant. It didn't happen." The state government offered BYD a basket of incentives to take over the plant. But almost as soon as the Chinese company arrived, it got enmeshed in a labor scandal. In December, Brazilian officials accused BYD's contractor, Jinjiang Construction Group, with keeping 163 Chinese workers in "conditions akin to slavery" and in violation of Brazilian labor laws. It embodied the reckoning that Chinese companies face as they seek to expand in Brazil, which has robust unions. The workers were sent back home. Construction slowed down. Company officials said they expect to start production later this year. When it does, Bonfim's union insists that Brazilians must be hired to work the line. It has threatened to strike if Chinese workers are brought in. BYD's top executive for Brazil, Alexandre Baldy , said the firm had taken steps to address the violations. In May the labor prosecutor's office filed charges against the carmaker and its contractors for human trafficking. The company said it plans to challenge the charges. In the meantime, the Great Wall factory in Iracemápolis will almost assuredly already be fully operational. An opening ceremony is planned for August. Cars are due to roll off the factory floor soon after. The factory first plans to produce one hybrid model and three plug-in hybrids.
