US-China trade talks are the main focus for investors as they continue in London after a “fruitful” session on Monday. It’s hoped that the deal with see the US ease export restrictions of chips while China will release its rare earth minerals. A good outcome could send Wall Street to a fresh record high, with the S&P 500 finishing marginally higher on Monday a few points above the 6k level. Apparent concessions for Western automakers last week suggest a deal is in the offing.

The FTSE 100 is also eyeing a record despite all the macro uncertainties...seems investors are keen to find some value with the US stock market hitting 200% on the Buffett indicator (market cap to GDP). The blue chips rallied almost half a percent early on Tuesday to 8,873 – the record intra-day high is 8,908.82, but the key is the closing high at 8,871.31 - intraday for show, closes for dough.

Takeovers remain the focus for the target-rich environment that is the FTSE. Spectris jumped 64% on a takeover bid, and Alphawave soared about 20% after Qualcomm’s offer. The UK market continues to lose listed companies to foreign buyers, raising questions about domestic investment, which is going to be thrust into fresh relief this week with UK Spending Review – does it entail (in the autumn Budget) further tax changes that hit investment?

Tesla shares rallied 5% to pare losses after their recent tumble as President Trump indicated he would keep his Tesla, as well as the Starlink service at the White House. After a very public bust-up, Trump sound in more emollient mood as he said he’d have “no problem” with speaking to Musk, his erstwhile ally. The rally came despite a downgrade from Baird which warned of the fresh uncertainty for the stock given the Trump relationship has flipped from a tailwind to headwind. Baird also expressed scepticism around the robotaxi launch. Dan Ives at Wedbush, top Tesla fanboy, stuck to his $500 price target and said the Trump administration would still fast track key regulatory hurdles for Tesla.

Meanwhile, Filtronic shares leapt 10% this morning after it announced a new multi-million order from SpaceX...it had been swept up in the Musk-Trump feud as investors worried about whether SpaceX would lose key US government contracts. This helps provide some salve

GameStop reports earnings after the market close tonight. It’s expected to report earnings per share of $0.08 on $750mn in revenue...options markets suggest GME shares could swing up to 11% either way on the earnings report. Shares have rallied about 40% since the late March lows and investors will be keen to see if this earnings report shows clear momentum. Key things to look for are the Bitcoin strategy and what tailwinds the company can expect from the release of the Nintendo Switch 2.