At open: German DAX 30 index up over 2%, EURO STOXX 50 INDEXup nearly 2%, FTSE 100 index, SPANISH IBEX 35 index up over 1%

China offers banks extra gold import quotas as investors flock

The People’s Bank of China issues new gold import quotas in response to surging demand from institutional and retail investors amid escalating trade tensions -sources

BofA: China’s policymakers are expected to roll out stimulus plans soon in response to the shock from U.S. tariffs.

BofA: We believe China’s strategy is to follow a ‘retaliate, stimulate, negotiate’ approach. Fiscal stimulus is likely to play a major role, with BofA expecting another CNY2 trillion package, initially targeting consumption and later investment.

Citi: China likely to take monetary policy actions amid tariff escalations

Citi: Further policy easing is necessary, and the next few weeks could be a window for monetary policy actions. Liquidity support for exporters could be readily on the table should liquidity constraints become more acute. An RRR cut could send a stronger signal, while a rate cut may need to be coordinated with exchange rate constraints.

🚨IMF: TRADE TENSIONS CAN LEAD TO STOCK MARKET CRASHES

Gold vs SP500 show equal returns over the past 5 years but gold has significantly outperformed SP500 since inauguration day.

Markets as of 4am MT open in green.

SP500 monthly so far. Huge wick forming.

ETH up 5%

Bitcoin OTC desk balance hits ATL

Gold's latest surge to fresh records has been fueled by a rush of buying activity in daily auctions, a sign that major players in the market are still adding to their holdings even at all-time high prices.

WH Sr Advisor Hassett: We're making enormous progress on tariff talks with EU. White House is concerned about China period. I am 100% not expecting a recession.

Short term inflation swaps just surged again

NVIDIA Blackwell chips have started production at TSMC's chip plants in Phoenix, Arizona. [⬆️inflation]

NVIDIA building supercomputer manufacturing plants in Texas, with Foxconn in Houston and with Wistron in Dallas.

NVIDIA: Mass production at Texas plants to ramp up in 12-15 months.

Global gold ETFs saw US$4.7bn (~52 tonnes) of net inflows last week. North American and Asian funds accounted for the bulk; the latter seeing its largest weekly inflow on record. YTD net inflows now over US$27bn (~293 tonnes).

NVIDIA UP NEARLY 4% PREMARKET