Weekly Market Review - 07-07-2025
- Anthony Walters
- Jul 6
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 8
Markets remained buoyant in a shortened trading week, with optimism tempered by ongoing trade tensions. As industrials led gains across major indices, investor attention turned to escalating tariff talks, commodity fluctuations, and central bank commentary. This week’s Weekly Market Review explores key developments across inflation, ESG, and geopolitics, and what to watch as markets head into a pivotal mid-July.
Market Recap.
Markets made progress in the shortened trading week, as trade tariffs continued to make headlines. Industrials led, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF gained 1.68%, followed by the Nasdaq 100 ETF, which added 0.91%.
The S&P 500 ETF (0.68%) and the FTSE 100 ETF (0.56%) also made gains.
News.
Powerhouse Asian economies Japan and South Korea have said they will try to negotiate with the US to soften the impact of sharply higher tariffs that could be imposed from the start of August.
Japan wants concessions for its large automobile industry, top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said. Akazawa said he held a 40-minute phone call with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in which the two agreed to continue negotiations. However, he said he would not sacrifice Japan's agriculture sector - a powerful political lobby domestically - for the sake of an early deal.
Inflation.
Britain’s largest retailers are warning that food prices are being driven up by hot weather hitting harvest yields, as the latest UK heatwave pushes temperatures close to record levels. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said rising fruit and vegetable prices had contributed to a jump in food price inflation in June, while retailers also passed on tax rises and employment costs to consumers.
Annual food price inflation leapt to 3.70% in June, up from 2.80% in May, amid a broader increase in total shop prices for the first time in almost a year, according to the BRC.
Central Banks.
The euro's recent appreciation against the dollar doesn't just reflect market conditions but also the strength of the euro zone's economy, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said.
"It's a reflection of the market conditions and assessment," Lagarde told the ECB's Conference on Central Banking. "It's also a reflection of the strength of our economy."
Commodities.
WTI crude oil futures fell to around $67.5 per barrel on Tuesday, retreating from a two-week high, as US tariffs fanned fears about the demand outlook while OPEC+ output hike threatened to swell a supply glut forecast for later this year.
ESG.
Global food and beverage company Nestlé has announced the release of a new independent evaluation of its income accelerator program promoting improved livelihoods for cocoa farming families and environmentally sustainable agricultural practices.
Under the program, families receive up to CHF 500 annually for enrolling children in school, implementing good agricultural practices which increase crop productivity, performing agroforestry activities to increase climate resilience, such as planting shade trees, and generating diversified incomes, including growing other crops or raising livestock.
Geopolitics.
President Donald Trump has said that the US will charge only 20% tariffs on imports from Vietnam under a new trade deal reached during last-minute negotiations. Products sent from Vietnam to the US had faced a 46% levy, which was set to go into effect next week as part of Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs announced in April.
Under the agreement, Vietnam will charge no tariffs on US products, Trump said in a social media post.
Week Ahead.
US: All eyes are on the July 9 tariff deadline. Without new trade agreements, significantly higher levies may be imposed. Markets will also assess Fed commentary for hints on future rate decisions.
UK: The focus will be on a broad economic snapshot including monthly GDP, industrial output, trade balance, and Halifax house prices – important markers for UK economic momentum heading into summer.
EU: Germany’s industrial production is expected to contract for a second month, highlighting ongoing manufacturing weakness despite easing inflation.
View this week's ESG in 5 for more updates here
Author.
Sources.
Market recap Data sourced from FE FundInfo & Koyfin. ETFs quoted: iShares Core FTSE 100 UCITS ETF, iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF, iShares Nasdaq 100 UCITS ETF (quoted in Pounds Sterling).
News Japan, South Korea seek to soften tariff blow before August deadline, by Jeff Mason and Leika Kihara, Reuters/ Yahoo Finance, 01/07/2025
Inflation Food prices pushed up by hot weather hitting harvest yields, say UK retailers, by Richard Partington, The Guardian, 01/07/2025
Central Banks ECB's Lagarde says euro's rise also reflects economic strength, By Reuters/ Yahoo Finance, 01/07/2025
ESG Nestlé Expands Program to Improve Livelihoods in Cocoa Supply Chain to 50,000 Families, by Mark Segal, ESG Today, 01/07/25
Geopolitics Trump announces trade deal with Vietnam, By Emer Moreau, BBC News, 02/07/2025
Commodities Tradingeconomics.com, 30/06/25
Week ahead Nathan Sweeney, Marlborough, 07/07/2025
