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The S&P 500 rose to within a whisker of a new record Thursday, the culmination of a stunning comeback from lows set in April as the benchmark overcame a wall of worries that included tariff fights, wars and sticky inflation.

The broad market index climbed 0.8% to 6,141.02, bringing its gain on the week to 2.9% and putting it just a few points away from the intraday all-time high hit in late February of 6,147.43.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1% to 20,167.91, itself inches away from a new record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 404.41 points, or about 0.9%, to 43,386.84.

Stocks rose to their highs of the session after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt played down the July tariff deal deadlines that have been looming over markets.

A group of Canadian steel producers said the government’s plan to restrict foreign steel imports isn’t strong enough and warned that the industry is set to shed thousands more jobs because of US tariffs.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government introduced a new tariff-rate quota last week to limit imports of steel and said it may adjust tariffs on US steel products on July 21, depending on the status of trade talks with the Trump administration.

The US has increased tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum to 50%. So far, Canada has decided not to match that, keeping its retaliatory levies at 25%.

“We have significantly dropped shipments and have experienced close to 1,000 job losses to date and are preparing for thousands more,” Catherine Cobden, chief executive officer of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, said in a statement Thursday. “We are concerned that the immediate measures fail to address the crisis we are in.”

JBS NV’s New York listing was met with fierce opposition from activist groups and politicians over the meat producer’s ESG record. Many investors, however, seem willing to look the other way.

A $3.5 billion bond sale earlier this week drew demand totalling five times the offering, slashing borrowing costs and providing strong evidence of investors’ confidence in JBS, Chief Financial Officer Guilherme Cavalcanti said Wednesday during a conference with journalists in New York.

“The main funds were all there, eager to be allocated,” Cavalcanti said, after being asked how criticism of the company impacted investor perception. The issuance was well oversubscribed less than three hours after launch, he added, without naming any of the buyers.

As financial markets rebounded from tariff turmoil, French payments processor Worldline SA seized on the momentum by kicking off a half-billion-euro bond sale to refinance debt. Demand for the offering was so strong that the company increased the sale to €550 million ($645 million).

Just three weeks later, buyers of the debt are sitting on big losses and contemplating next steps after a series of news reports alleging that the company covered up fraud by some of its customers, which sent its stock and bonds tumbling. Within hours of the reports, the bonds had dropped from near par to as low as 87 cents on the euro, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg.

Even after gaining back a cent Thursday, holders have lost roughly €55 million since Wednesday’s open, and the debt is still quoted at levels indicative of a single B credit, well below the investment-grade rating Worldline’s bonds were given.

Oil held steady as traders grappled with conflicting signals about how much US military strikes hobbled Iran’s nuclear program and whether Washington will continue to target Tehran’s oil flows.

West Texas Intermediate edged up to settle near $65 a barrel while Brent closed little changed near $68. WTI had climbed as much as 2.3% earlier after the Financial Times reported that European capitals believe that Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile remains largely intact following US strikes.

President Donald Trump, in a social media post, denied reports that Iran successfully moved nuclear material from its sites before the attacks.

Apple Inc. has offered to overhaul its App Store to appease European Union antitrust watchdogs who issued an ultimatum after doling out a €500 million ($580 million) fine.

The iPhone maker’s proposal is designed to make it cheaper and less onerous for third-party developers to direct customers away from the Apple ecosystem to make payments elsewhere.

The pledge, following weeks of fraught discussions with EU regulators, is an attempt to dodge future penalties for failing to fix alleged violations of the bloc’s Digital Markets Act, which led to the fine in April. Despite the offer, Apple has said it plans to appeal the penalty through the bloc’s courts in Luxembourg. The company has a deadline of July 7 to appeal.

“The European Commission is requiring Apple to make a series of additional changes to the App Store,” the company said in a statement. “We disagree with this outcome and plan to appeal.”

Most illegal activity happening on cryptocurrency ledgers now involves the tokens known as stablecoins, according to a report released on Thursday by an intergovernmental body that develops policies to protect the global financial system against money laundering and terrorist financing.

The findings in the new report from the Financial Action Task Force land just as US lawmakers and businesses are pushing for the wider distribution of stablecoins, crypto tokens that are pegged to the dollar or some other national currency.

The task force, which brings together officials from most of the biggest countries in the world, found that a wide array of illicit actors — including terrorists, drug traffickers and North Korean hackers — have stepped up their use of stablecoins since the group’s last report on digital assets in 2024.

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins said she sees at least one interest-rate cut this year, but indicated July would be too early for such a move.

“We’re only going to have really one more month of data before the July meeting,” Collins said Thursday in a phone interview with Bloomberg News. “I expect to want to see more information than that.”

Fed officials kept interest rates steady last week, arguing there’s still elevated uncertainty over how the economy will react to a set of policy changes, particularly those around trade.

Agriculture traders in Argentina are rushing to get crop shipments on the books before President Javier Milei’s tariff relief expires next week.

Trading houses, which must procure licenses for their future cargoes by listing them on a government register, are notching the biggest volumes of soy and corn since Milei temporarily reduced export tariffs at the beginning of the year.

The move was in part designed to help farmers struggling to turn a profit amid low global prices, and in part to bring forward inflows of dollars to the central bank as Milei seeks to stabilise the economy ahead of midterm elections in October.

A flurry of Federal Reserve officials this week made clear they’ll need a few more months to gain confidence that tariff-driven price hikes won’t raise inflation in a persistent way.

Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman captured attention in the past week when they signaled they’d be open to lowering rates as soon as the Fed’s July 29-30 meeting if inflation remains contained.

Since then, however, nearly a dozen policymakers — including Chair Jerome Powell, New York Fed President John Williams and San Francisco Fed chief Mary Daly — have dumped cold water on that idea.

Wall Street bulls drove stocks to the brink of all-time highs, with investors setting aside recent geopolitical fears amid hopes that a resumption of Federal Reserve rate cuts will fuel the outlook for Corporate America. Treasury yields fell alongside the dollar.

The US equity benchmark rose almost 1%, briefly topping its Feb. 19 closing peak of 6,144.15. Nvidia Corp. paced gains in big tech. Micron Technology Inc., the top-performing US chipmaker this year, delivered an outlook that wasn’t quite rosy enough to keep its 2025 rally going. Banks climbed as a veteran industry analyst said that as long as there’s no recession, it’s “game on” for the shares.

The US Justice Department has begun an investigation into whether the schools in the 10-campus University of California system are violating federal law through discriminatory hiring practices.

The probe, announced Thursday by the department’s civil rights division, is the latest move by the Trump administration to challenge high-profile college campuses across the country over their practices.

“Our investigation is based on information suggesting that the University of California may be engaged in certain employment practices that discriminate against employees, job applicants and training program participants based on race and sex,” according to a letter sent to the president of the university. The letter didn’t provide any details about what information the department has obtained.

Republicans’ latest attempt to use President Donald Trump’s massive tax package to ban US states from enforcing artificial intelligence regulations has hit a snag that endangers a provision favoured by AI titans.

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough this week told Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz that the controversial provision may violate the chamber’s rules and advised his office to rewrite it, according to people familiar with the conversations.

Republicans are relying on a special budgetary process to fast-track Trump’s multi-trillion-dollar bill without Democratic support. To do so, they must avoid making significant policy changes.

The debate centers on whether Cruz’s provision forces states to decide between enforcing AI regulations and delivering billions in federal funds for internet broadband projects.

Trump Mobile, the new cellular service venture introduced by the Trump Organization last week, has scrubbed online references that originally promised its first mobile handset, the T1 Phone, would be produced in the US.

As reported by the Verge on Wednesday, the Trump Mobile website quietly removed language stating that the smartphone — due later this year — is “made in the USA.” Instead, the page now includes less specific wording that says the T1 Phone has been “designed with American values in mind.”

According to the description, the T1 Phone is “brought to life right here in the USA” and “with American hands behind every device.” But the website no longer asserts that it will be manufactured domestically. The device’s hardware specifications have also changed. Originally, Trump Mobile advertised the T1 Phone as having a 6.78-inch screen, but that has now been adjusted to a slightly smaller 6.25 inches.

President Donald Trump could extend his upcoming self-imposed tariff pause deadline, the White House said Thursday.

That July 9 trade-deal deadline “is not critical,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a briefing.

“The president can simply provide these countries with a deal if they refuse to make us one by the deadline,” Leavitt said, “and that means the president can pick a reciprocal tariff rate that he believes is advantageous for the United States and for the American worker.”

Anna Wintour is stepping down from her role at American Vogue as the magazine’s editor-in-chief, The Times of London reported.

Wintour announced her decision in a staff meeting yesterday. The publication will be seeking a new head of editorial content, according to the report.

Donald Trump won back the White House in 2024 with the help of a racially diverse group of inconsistent voters — not necessarily by changing their minds, but by just getting them to show up.

That’s the conclusion of a new Pew Research Center analysis released Thursday, offering the clearest picture yet of how Trump’s victory represents a continuing realignment in US politics. The three-time candidate became only the second Republican to win the national popular vote since 1988 — in part by boosting turnout among his supporters and drawing new strength from Black, Hispanic and naturalised voters.

The study complicates long-held assumptions about which party benefits from higher turnout. While the coalitions of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden depended on low-propensity voters breaking their way, Pew found that both new and returning voters in 2024 were more likely to favour Trump. And while Kamala Harris still won support from most voters of color, her margins mostly shrank compared to Biden’s — especially among men.

A group of Canadian steel producers said the government’s plan to restrict foreign steel imports isn’t strong enough and warned that the industry is set to shed thousands more jobs because of US tariffs.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government introduced new tariff-rate quotas last week to limit imports of steel and said it may adjust tariffs on US steel products on July 21, depending on the status of trade talks with the Trump administration.

The US has increased tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum to 50%. So far, Canada has decided not to match that, keeping its retaliatory levies at 25%.

“We have significantly dropped shipments and have experienced close to 1,000 job losses to date and are preparing for thousands more,” Catherine Cobden, chief executive officer of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, said in a statement Thursday. “We are concerned that the immediate measures fail to address the crisis we are in.”

Mortgage rates in the US fell for a fourth straight week. The average for 30-year, fixed loans was 6.77%, the lowest since early May and down from 6.81% last week, Freddie Mac said in a statement.

The stretch of declines offers a bit of relief to house hunters looking to take advantage of a wider selection of listings across much of the country. But while buyers have gotten more choices and greater negotiating power, affordability remains a hurdle. At the same time, anxiety over the economy may weigh on consumers’ financial decisions.

The cost of shipping Middle East crude to customers in Asia collapsed on Thursday, the latest sign of oil markets returning to normal after conflict eased in the world’s top petroleum-exporting region.

Charter rates slumped by 17% to 55.50 industry-standard Worldscale points, according to data from the Baltic Exchange in London. It works out at roughly $1.60 a barrel.

“Risk premiums have naturally faded,” said Fredrik Dybwad, an analyst at Fearnley Securities AS. “There is ample vessel availability, and considering normal seasonality, rates should naturally find a lower level.”

Omead Afshar, a powerful executive at Tesla Inc. and one of Elon Musk’s closest confidants, has left the company, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest high-level departure during a volatile period for the electric vehicle maker.

News of the exit has circulated internally among some employees in recent days, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal information. Afshar’s name no longer appeared to show up in an internal directory, two of the people said. The reason for the change wasn’t immediately clear.

Afshar, Musk and Tesla didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

JetBlue Airways Corp.‘s second-largest shareholder is calling on the US carrier to shrink its board to five people from the current 13 as part of efforts to slash spending and return to profits.

Vlad Galkin, a Florida-based businessman who holds close to a 10% stake, said he’s talked to the carrier about dropping the board to as few as five members. Excluding two representatives of Icahn Enterprises, the third-largest shareholder, current directors own less than 1% of JetBlue, he said.

“That’s a big board,” Galkin said in an interview on Thursday. “They need to be let go tomorrow. There’s a lot of fat that needs to be trimmed, and they need to be laser-focused on making money, paying down debt.”

Galkin, who said he has considered asking for a board seat, said directors shouldn’t be paid as long as the company isn’t profitable.

The biggest threat to Peru tapping more of its giant copper deposits is rising informal and illegal mining activity, according to the head of the country’s main industry association, SNMPE.

Peru has slipped to third in the global copper-production ranking and last year posted its first decline in output in five years. This year, it should be able to get back to growth, albeit slightly, and reach a record 3.4 million metric tons by decade-end, according to Julia Torreblanca, SNMPE’s President.

But much depends on containing informal operations that are encroaching on concessions — a trend that opens the door to criminal groups, Torreblanca said. More than 20 companies — including Southern Copper Corp., MMG Ltd., First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Teck Resources Ltd. — have been affected, with tens of billions of dollars in investments on the line that depend on the nation’s ability to navigate the issue.

A Republican plan to cut $250 billion in Medicaid and other health care spending hit a procedural roadblock in the Senate Thursday, complicating efforts to pass Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending package.

The Senate’s legislative rules-keeper judged a series of key health care provisions in the legislation ineligible for a special procedure Republicans are using to bypass the Senate’s normal process so they avoid making concessions to Democrats.

Senate Republican leaders are working to re-fashion the provisions to comply with the rules and believe they will be able restore many of the cuts, according to people familiar with the effort. But the rewriting could take time and delay plans to begin votes on the legislation on Friday.

European Union leaders are set to debate their strategy in response to President Donald Trump’s trade war, with the likely choices coming down to accepting an unbalanced deal or risking escalation by striking back.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will brief EU leaders on the status of negotiations with the US over dinner Thursday as several capitals push the commission, which handles trade matters for the bloc, to go for a quick deal with the US even if it means that many of Trump’s tariffs stay in place, according to people familiar with the matter.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker unveiled his bid for a third term with an attempt to position himself as a champion of voters’ economic concerns and a foil to President Donald Trump.

“These days, Illinois is standing at the center of the fight: the fight to make life more affordable, the fight to protect our freedoms, the fight for common sense,” Pritzker said in the first video of his reelection campaign. “Donald Trump’s made it clear he’ll stop at nothing to get his way. I am not about to stand by and let him tear down all we’re building in Illinois.”

Germany’s largest gas storage facility failed to allocate capacity at its latest auction, raising risks that the country will struggle to meet legally binding stockpiling targets ahead of winter.

The Rehden site in northern Germany remains almost empty, with only a small portion of capacity booked so far this year. Its operator, state-owned Securing Energy for Europe GmbH, didn’t specify the reasons for Thursday’s failed auction, but said after a previous round that offers outstripped what was allocated, signalling it may be waiting for higher prices.

SEFE announced the auction earlier this week when European gas prices were higher amid fears that the conflict in the Middle East might escalate and cause supply disruptions. The market has since plummeted, with a ceasefire between Iran and Israel appearing to hold. That could have made offers less attractive.

Indigenous communities in Canada’s Alberta province are pushing back on restrictions they say hinder investment in new data centers needed to power the growth of artificial intelligence.

The Enoch Cree, Alexis Nakota Sioux, Alexander and Paul First Nations sent a letter to the province’s premier, Danielle Smith, saying recently announced limits on data-center access to the power grid will undermine their communities’ efforts to generate revenue from the AI boom.

With abundant supplies of relatively low-cost natural gas, Alberta has sought to position itself as a hub for data-center projects. But in early June, the Alberta Electric System Operator announced it would limit connections to no more than 1,200 megawatts for “large load projects” including data centers until 2028 after more than two dozen projects were proposed, representing more than 16 gigawatts of electricity.

Most illegal activity happening on cryptocurrency ledgers now involves the tokens known as stablecoins, according to a report released on Thursday by an intergovernmental body that develops policies to protect the global financial system against money laundering and terrorist financing.

The findings in the new report from the Financial Action Task Force land just as US lawmakers and businesses are pushing for the wider distribution of stablecoins, crypto tokens that are pegged to the dollar or some other national currency.

The task force, which brings together officials from most of the biggest countries in the world, found that a wide array of illicit actors — including terrorists, drug traffickers and North Korean hackers — have stepped up their use of stablecoins since the group’s last report on digital assets in 2024.NewsLive TVMarketPopular CategoriesCalculatorsTrending NowLet's Connect with CNBCTV 18Network 18 Group :©TV18 Broadcast Limited. All rights reserved.