US equity markets opened the week with modest gains - Dow up +23-points or +0.09% The broader S&P500 inched +0.09% higher, with Real Estate (up +1.12%) and Communication Services (+1.06%) the leading sector performers, while Materials (down -0.94%) and Financials (-0.93%) were the notable laggards. The NASDAQ +0.62%, with Facebook Inc and Netflix Inc climbing +4.2% and +3.2% respectively. US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told CNBC that President Donald Trump is “perfectly happy” to impose tariffs on the remaining $300 billion of Chinese imports of the two superpowers fail to agree a deal. Ross also said that Trump is giving “very serious thought” to slapping tariffs on all auto imports, including those from the European Union. Separately, an influential Chinese Communist Party journal on Sunday (16 June) ran a commentary piece saying the US has underestimated China's will to fight a trade war and Beijing is prepared for a long economic battle. In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, auction house Sotheby’s soared +58.60% on news it will be acquired for US$3.7B by BidFair USA, a company owned by telecom businessman Patrick Drahi. Array BioPharma also surged +56.94% after the company was acquired by Pfizer for US$10.6B.
