Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk. Here's where things stand.
President Trump escalated trade tensions with the European Union today, threatening substantial new tariffs after Brussels fined Google and previously penalized Apple, Meta, and Amazon. Trump called the EU's actions outright robbery of American tech giants, and Washington is now reportedly launching a fresh trade probe into the bloc — a move that could sharpen an already fragile transatlantic relationship heading into the weekend.
Staying in tech, memory chip stocks are under notable pressure even as the broader technology sector holds its ground. Micron and its peers are sliding on a combination of concerns — Chinese advances in domestic memory production, weakness spilling over from Korean equity markets, and Intel's failure to sustain any post-earnings momentum. There's no single catalyst here, but the cumulative weight is dragging the sector lower.
On the energy side, SLB is drawing attention for a strategic pivot that's insulating it from Middle East volatility. The oilfield services giant has been quietly building exposure to data center infrastructure, riding the AI-driven surge in power demand. That positioning is paying off, with revenue diversification helping offset any headwinds from geopolitical uncertainty around Iran.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
