Stocks Surge as Trump and Xi Talk, But Bitcoin Hovers and Jobless Claims Spike

Market Reaction to Trump-Xi Call

Stocks kicked off the day with a bang on Thursday, riding high on news that U.S. President Donald Trump had a pow-wow over the phone with China's Xi Jinping. The markets were buzzing with this latest twist in the U.S.-China saga!

Dow Jones Rollercoaster

The Dow Jones, fresh off snapping a five-day winning streak on June 4, started in the green but took a nosedive into the red after just 40 minutes of trading. Talk about a rollercoaster!

Wall Street's Mixed Signals

Despite the lackluster trading, Wall Street was all in on the Trump-Xi call. Xinhua spilled the beans on the chat, which came hot on the heels of Trump's accusation that China broke a trade deal. Remember those rallies in April after U.S.-China talks in Switzerland? Good times!

Bitcoin's Steady Dance

As stocks edged up with this latest development, Bitcoin (BTC) was doing its own thing, chilling just above $105k. Steady as she goes!

Economic Worries Loom

While Wall Street's eyeing another winning week, the global economic vibes are still pretty downbeat. The latest buzzkill? The ADP report on private-sector hiring growth. Yikes!

Jobless Claims on the Rise

On Thursday, the Labor Department dropped a bomb: weekly jobless claims shot up for the second week in a row. We're talking 8,000 more Americans filing for unemployment benefits, hitting 247,000—the highest spike since October 2024. Economists were blindsided, expecting only 237,000 new claims.

Productivity Slump and Rising Costs

Adding insult to injury, U.S. worker productivity took a hit in Q1 2025, pushing unit labor costs up by a whopping 6.6%. Blame it on the ongoing tariff uncertainty. Nonfarm productivity tanked at an annual rate of 1.5%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

ECB's Rate Cut Streak

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank threw everyone a curveball by cutting interest rates by 25 basis points, bringing the deposit facility rate down to 2%. That's their seventh cut in a row, down from a peak of 4% back in mid-2023. Whoa!

Eurozone Inflation Dips

The ECB's move came after eurozone inflation data showed a drop to 1.9% in May, missing the bank's 2% target. The plot thickens!

Trump's Fed Frustration

Adding to the drama, President Trump took a swipe at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting rates. With tariffs and monetary policy still up in the air, investors are on edge in the risk asset markets. Buckle up, folks!