Markets hit record highs despite new Trump tariffs on Canada, Brazil, and EU. Earnings season begins, with volatility ticking up and investors watching guidance closely.

The European Union braced on Friday to receive a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump, outlining planned duties on his largest trade and investment partner after a broadening of his tariff war in recent days.

Trump’s move deepens a rift between two North American countries that have suffered a debilitating blow to their decades-old alliance.

"The EU and China are broadly on a colliding trajectory in terms of their trade and industrial policy concerns," he told CNBC. Bones of contention include the challenge of China's overcapacity and trade diversion to Europe, Stec, who is also head of the Mercator Institute's Brussels office, explained.

The European Union said it was working on sealing a trade deal with the United States by the end of the month, while U.S. President Donald Trump promised that he would deliver further tariff notices on unnamed countries on Wednesday.

In a wide-ranging interview with NBC News, Trump talked about tariffs, sending Patriot missiles to NATO for Ukraine and how he'll sell his recently passed "big, beautiful bill."

Trump has broadened his trade war in recent days, setting new tariffs on a number of countries along with a 50% tariff on copper. Among sectors, European personal and household goods fell 1%, while healthcare stocks declined 0.7%. Defence stocks were up 0.6%.

US President Donald Trump speaks during a multilateral lunch with visiting African Leaders in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 9, 2025.

The EU remains hopeful it will strike a deal to avoid steep levies Trump has threatened on its exports to the US.

The European Union may be nearing a trade agreement with the United States but is struggling to obtain immediate tariff relief and a commitment not to introduce new measures, the head of the European Parliament's trade committee said on Wednesday.

President Trump is pushing through with his tariff agenda, unveiling a new batch of letters to country leaders outlining tariffs on goods imported from their countries beginning in August and a warning to BRICS nations.