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Bitcoin jumped from $105,000 to $108,000 on Monday, according to data from CoinGecko, right as U.S. and Chinese officials kicked off face-to-face trade talks in London.
While the crypto scene reacted fast, Wall Street climbed more cautiously. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, the Nasdaq Composite went up by nearly 0.4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 106 points.
Trump officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, sat across from Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at Lancaster House, the site where Draghi made his 2012 euro pledge.
The meeting came days after Donald Trump and Xi Jinping had a long phone call. A month ago, both sides agreed to slash some tariffs for 90 days to get trade talks moving. Monday’s sit-down was the first follow-up.
It was about figuring out if China would reopen rare earth mineral exports and whether the U.S. would ease restrictions right after that. Kevin Hassett, head of Trump’s National Economic Council, said on CNBC, “The purpose of the meeting today is to make sure that they’re serious … to literally get handshakes … and get this thing behind us.”
He also said the U.S. expects that “immediately after the handshake, any export controls from the U.S. will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume.”
Chip stocks jump while Apple falls after WWDC
On the tech side, traders bet big on semiconductors. Qualcomm soared over 4% after confirming it was buying chipmaker Alphawave for $2.4 billion.
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices and Texas Instruments each gained more than 4%. Nvidia also edged higher. Investors pushed these names up as they’re seen as major winners if U.S.-China tensions drop.
Larry Tentarelli, chief technical strategist at Blue Chip Daily Trend Report, said, “Investors are taking bullish trades today on China large caps and U.S. semiconductor stocks, which are both beneficiaries of U.S./China trade talks.”
Alibaba moved up 2%, adding to the trend of confidence in Chinese big names. But not everything climbed. Apple slipped 1.5% during its 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference, where it showed its first major iOS redesign in more than a decade. It wasn’t enough to pull in the bulls, who were focused on geopolitics and macro data instead.
Back in London, Trump’s team wasn’t just chasing minerals. By bringing Howard Lutnick, who manages controls over tech exports, they signaled that Trump may reverse some of the blocks on U.S. tech sales to China. That includes everything from jet engine parts to advanced microchips. The message? If China plays ball on exports, Washington might loosen its grip on the tech leash.
Looking ahead, traders are waiting on inflation figures. The consumer price index is due Wednesday, and the producer price index comes Thursday. Both are expected to show how current tariffs are impacting prices. Investors want clear numbers before placing any new bets.
Markets also just wrapped up a strong two-week run. The S&P 500 closed above 6,000 on Friday for the first time since February 21, now sitting less than 3% from its record high.
Richard Saperstein, chief investment officer at Treasury Partners, said, “With the S&P 500 closing above 6,000 for the first time since February, stocks are effectively looking through the current tariff uncertainty into a more stimulative economic climate.”