Before the bell: Deadline approaching

The July 9 deadline is drawing near—will all 50 trade partners strike a deal with the United States by Wednesday?

Over the past week, the average European stock lost ground, while U.S. indices moved higher. In Brussels, Umicore (+13%) was the week’s top performer after investment bank Jefferies raised its price target for the company. In Paris, luxury stocks made a strong showing, with Kering rising 7.6% and LVMH up 6.2%. Among U.S. stocks, First Solar (+21.6%), Oracle (+12.9%) and Estée Lauder (+10.8%) stood out. Meanwhile, health insurer Centene Corp issued a profit warning and lost more than a third of its market value over the five-day period. We are fast approaching the deadline set earlier this year by Donald Trump for various U.S. trade partners. They were given until July 9 to strike a deal with the U.S. Back on April 2, Trump’s announcement of sweeping import tariffs on goods from some 50 countries caused significant turmoil in the stock markets. What will happen this Wednesday remains uncertain. What we do know: on Monday, twelve letters will leave the White House. The recipients remain unknown. According to the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, several countries are close to reaching an agreement with the U.S., while others can expect tariffs as high as 50% if they fail to do so quickly.

In Asia, both the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong and the Topix in Tokyo are down 0.5% this morning. In South Korea, LG Electronics dropped more than 3% after disappointing preliminary earnings. On the macro front, Europe will publish retail sales data for May, and Germany will release its industrial production figures for the same period. On the corporate earnings front, there is little news today.

Struggling health insurers

Centene Corp is the latest U.S. health insurer to report poor results. After issuing a profit warning last week, the company lost more than a third of its market value. The firm’s actuaries—specialists who calculate insurance risk and premiums—appear to have underestimated the risks. Many more people than expected made claims on their health insurance, throwing the numbers out of balance. Earlier this year, UnitedHealth also ran into trouble, although that case involved elements of fraud. When more people than anticipated tap into their insurance, it usually signals broader problems across the sector. Other U.S. insurers like Molina Healthcare (-19.7%) and Elevance Health (-7.4%) also took a hit.

No smiles at LG today

LG Electronics shares fell 3.9% on the Seoul stock exchange this morning. In a preliminary report, the South Korean electronics and technology firm posted operating profits that came in 30% lower than analysts had expected. According to LG, the weaker performance is due to increased competition, consumers delaying purchases, and U.S. trade tariffs. Key product lines like tumble dryers and washing machines sold worse than before. The company says it will now focus more on heat pumps and EV solutions to improve profitability.

Did you know…

that tech giant Apple has scored its first summer blockbuster with the movie F1? The film, starring Brad Pitt, follows the story of former Formula 1 driver Sonny Hayes and has grossed nearly 300 million dollar since its release on June 27.

This article was translated from Dutch and was originally published on Spaarvarkens.be.