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The Nasdaq and other major stock market indexes began the week in positive territory on Monday as President Donald Trump planned new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The move follows Trump’s tariff announcements last week, which shook global markets.
While the impact of the tariff on the world economy is yet to be seen, investors are also focused on the inflation report that is set to be released this week, which will provide insight into how the Trump administration plans to tackle the macroeconomic situation.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed by 1.1% Monday afternoon, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 saw increases of 0.2% and 0.6%, respectively.
Additionally, investors will focus on major corporate earnings this week, including Coca-Cola (KO+0.50%), Super Micro Computer (SMCI+15.49%), Robinhood (HOOD+0.88%), Coinbase (COIN+2.07%), and others.
Steel and aluminum stocks are up
Trump said Sunday that he plans to announce a blanket 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports. In response to the announcement, stocks for steel and aluminum companies saw significant increases on Monday, such as Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF+17.38%), U.S. Steel (X+3.63%), and Nucor (NUE+5.73%). In the commodity market, HRC Steel Futures Continuous Contract was up 6%.
McDonald’s earnings take a hit from E. Coli
The fast-food giant McDonald’s (MCD+4.89%) missed Wall Street’s expectations for the fourth quarter, largely due to the lingering effects of an E. coli outbreak and ongoing inflation pressures. The October incident sickened hundreds of customers and caused a massive drop in foot traffic, leading to a decline in same-store sales. McDonald’s shares were up by 4% Monday afternoon.
GameStop jumps 8% as it might buy Bitcoin
Shares of GameStop (GME+8.57%) jumped over 8% Monday afternoon on speculation that the brick-and-mortar company may invest in Bitcoin.
Over the weekend, the video game retailer’s CEO, Ryan Cohen, shared a photo of himself with Michael Saylor, co-founder of Strategy (MSTR+1.41%) (formerly MicroStrategy) and the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin. GameStop was trading at $26 per share on Monday.
The photo was posted on X without a caption or any details about their meeting, sparking speculation that GameStop might be exploring opportunities related to Bitcoin.
— Francisco Velasquez contributed to this article.