U.S. stock futures rose slightly, European stocks were mostly flat, and the yen and gold advanced

On Monday the 21st, as the US-EU tariff negotiations remain unclear, US stock futures rose slightly while European stocks were flat and cautious. The ruling coalition in Japan suffered a significant defeat, leading to political uncertainty, which is short-term favorable for the yen but pressures the Japanese stock market, with the yen rising over 0.7% at one point. Additionally, gold rose slightly while oil prices fell slightly.

Here are the movements of core assets:

The three major US stock index futures all rose over 0.2%.

European stocks opened basically flat, with the pan-European index and German stocks remaining stable.

The yen rose over 0.6% against the US dollar. The US dollar index fell over 0.2%. The euro rose over 0.2%. The Swiss franc rose about 0.2%.

US Treasury yields fell for the fourth consecutive day, with the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield down about 3 basis points.

Spot gold rose over 0.4%, and spot silver rose over 0.6%.

US oil fell over 0.2%, and Brent oil fell over 0.4%.

US stock futures rise slightly, European stocks remain flat, as the market awaits whether the US-EU tariff war will escalate

In terms of trade, EU countries are meeting this week to prepare an "emergency plan" to prevent Trump from pushing high tariffs on August 1, which could lead to a breakdown in US-EU trade negotiations.

The S&P 500 index futures rose slightly over 0.2%.

The pan-European index and German stocks remained basically flat. Among individual stocks, automaker Stellantis NV reported a loss of 2.3 billion euros (approximately 2.7 billion USD) in the first half of the year, mainly due to restructuring costs, declining sales, and the impact of US tariffs.

US Treasury yields decline for the fourth consecutive day

Reports indicate that Treasury Secretary Mnuchin warned Trump that "if you fire Federal Reserve Chairman Powell, the market will crash," to which Trump denied the claim. Barclays strategist Fiotakis stated that the likelihood of Powell being dismissed remains low, and even if he were, other Fed governors would not hastily cut rates unless the economy was truly poor.

Negative factors have been exhausted, and the yen rebounds significantly

The US dollar index fell over 0.2%.

The yen rose over 0.6%.

Previously, due to market concerns that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's poor election prospects could lead to increased fiscal spending and tax cuts, the yen fell for two consecutive weeks, and Japanese bond yields rose. Although the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its allies lost their majority in the parliament, the final result may still be enough for Ishiba to retain his position as Prime Minister.

Akira Moroga, Chief Market Strategist at Aozora Bank, stated: "Some investors had originally bet that the ruling coalition would face a more severe defeat, even expecting Ishiba to resign. Now these bets have been lifted, and coupled with the relief following the realization of political risks, this has driven a preliminary rebound in the yen."

This election has resulted in the ruling party losing some control in the National Assembly, marking the first time in nearly 70 years in Japan's history, and the market is highly concerned about the impact of this political instability. Japanese stock index futures fell slightly.

Rodrigo Catril, a foreign exchange strategist at National Australia Bank, said: "Uncertainty typically provides a boost to the yen in the early stages. Overall, this election is not good news for Japanese assets, and we tend to short the yen after a short-term strengthening."

Dilin Wu, a strategist at Pepperstone Group, stated that the election results have at least temporarily weakened Japan's attractiveness to global investors. As investors digest the political consequences, market risk appetite may further decline.

Oil prices fall slightly, spot gold rises

Spot gold rose nearly 0.5%.