SMCI China to Suspend Some Rare-Earth Curbs and US Chip Firm Probes
BLOOMBERG
China will effectively suspend implementation of additional export controls on rare-earth metals and terminate investigations targeting US companies in the semiconductor supply chain, the White House announced.
The White House issued a fact sheet on Saturday outlining some details of the trade pact agreed to last week by President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping that aimed to ease tensions between the world’s largest economies.
Under the deal, China will issue “general licenses” valid for exports of rare earths, gallium, germanium, antimony and graphite “for the benefit of US end users and their suppliers around the world,” meaning the “de facto removal” of controls Beijing imposed in April 2025 and October 2022, the White House said. The US and China previously said Beijing would suspend more restrictive controls announced in October 2025 for one year.
SMCI Stocks, Futures Rise as October Optimism Continues: Markets Wrap
BLOOMBERG
US equity-index futures advanced Monday, suggesting that the seven-month rally in global stocks may still have room to run as strong tech earnings and easing US–China trade tensions lift sentiment.
Contracts for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 indexes rose 0.2% after gains on the underlying gauges Friday, with earnings optimism outweighing worries about a rally that’s heavily concentrated on tech giants. Asian shares gained 0.3%, while South Korea climbed to a new peak. Indexes in China dropped. Markets in Japan and cash trading of Treasuries were closed on Monday due to a holiday.
Commodity markets were in focus, with gold recovering from early declines after China scrapped a longstanding tax incentive. West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.5% after OPEC+ decided to pause output increases during the first quarter. Treasury futures inched higher while Australian yields rose ahead of an interest rate decision by the country’s central bank on Tuesday.
Stocks have rallied to record levels, even after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that a December rate cut isn’t a foregone conclusion and megacap tech earnings were mixed. Trade tensions have also eased, with Beijing signaling plans to suspend new export controls on rare earth metals and end investigations into US firms in the semiconductor supply chain.
SMCI US Stock Futures Rally as Amazon, Apple Lift Mood: Markets Wrap
BLOOMBERG
Futures on the S&P 500 rose 0.7% and those on the Nasdaq 100 gained 1.2% after the underlying indexes slipped Thursday amid weakness in tech stocks. Apple rose in late trading as it beat revenue estimates and offered a bullish holiday forecast. Amazon surged 13% in extended trading after reporting its fastest cloud unit growth in nearly three years.
Asian shares rose 0.2% after paring some of their early gains, still hovering near record highs. Japanese equities jumped 1.7% while gauges in mainland China and Hong Kong fell by about 1%. Contracts indicated a slightly weaker open for European stocks.
Markets were mixed in other corners with gold sliding 0.8%, the fourth decline in five sessions. Treasury yields and a gauge of the dollar steadied. The yen rose after inflation in Tokyo advanced and the government said it’s monitoring the currency with a strong sense of urgency.
After-market gains in Apple and Amazon offered investors a brief respite from Thursday’s bruising session for megacap techs, amid lingering doubts over whether heavy AI spending will pay off. Meta Platforms Inc. drew record demand for its $30 billion bond sale, signaling that investors are looking past those concerns and continuing to bet on a rally that has added $17 trillion in market value since April.
“None of this means that the AI bubble is going to burst and that we’re on the cusp of a major reversal in the stock market,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak. “However, it does raise the odds that we could see a short-term pullback.”
SMCI China to Suspend Some Rare-Earth Curbs and US Chip Firm Probes
