| US stocks reversed early losses to end higher on Monday, led by strength in the technology sector even as worries about a trade war continued to play on investors’ minds. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.2% at 24,307.18, while the S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 2,726.71 and the Nasdaq pushed up 0.8% to 7,567.69. Stocks had kicked the session off on the back foot amid escalating trade tensions, after US President Trump said over the weekend that the European Union was "as bad as China" when it comes to trade. Asked whether it would be better to join forces with Washington's European allies to try to change China’s trade practices in an interview with Fox News, Trump said: "No [...] they treat us badly, they treat us very unfairly." "The EU is possibly as bad as China, just smaller. It is terrible what they do to us," he said. According to the Financial Times, the European Commission has warned the US Department of Commerce that it could retaliate with tariffs on up to $300bn of US products if Washington presses ahead with tariffs on EU vehicles. In addition, Canada began implementing tariffs on $12.6bn of US goods over the weekend in retaliation for Washington's new taxes on steel and aluminium imported into the US. However, stocks managed to reverse course thanks to a rally in the technology sector, with the likes of Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia all in the black. Elsewhere, Compugen shot higher after it received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to advance its lead immuno-oncology programme into the clinic, while biopharmaceutical company Alkermes ended up after getting FDA approval for its long-acting injectable schizophrenia treatment. Dell Technologies was sharply higher after saying it will buy out the holders of shares that track the performance of VMWare using cash and equity in Dell. United Rentals retreated after agreeing to buy BakerCorp International Holdings for around $715m in cash. Electric car maker Tesla was in the red, giving up earlier gains after saying it had reached its goal of producing 5,000 Model 3 electric cars a week by the end of June. On the data front, Markit's manufacturing PMI for June came in at 55.4, topping expectations of a 54.7 reading. Meanwhile, figures from the Institute for Supply Management showed that growth in the US economy's manufacturing sector unexpectedly picked up in June. The ISM's headline manufacturing index rose to 60.2 from 58.7 in May, beating expectations for a drop to 58.1 and close to the 14-year high of 60.8 reached in February. A reading above 50 indicates expansion while a reading below signals contraction. The new orders index ticked down to 63.5 from 63.7 last month, while the production index rose to 62.3 from May's 61.5 and the supplier deliveries index rose to 68.2 from 62. The employment index printed at 56 versus 56.3 in May and the inventories index nudged up to 50.8 in June from 50.2 the month before, while the prices index came in at 76.8 from 79.5 in May. Michael Pearce, senior US economist at Capital Economics, said the increase in the ISM manufacturing index in June is a clear sign that, for now at least, the strength of the domestic economy is more than offsetting any increased uncertainty on trade policy. "However, with the dollar appreciating by 6% since April, global growth slowing and retaliatory tariffs just beginning to bite, the sector looks unlikely to fare so well for long," he said. Lastly, construction spending was rose 0.4% in May, just shy of an expected 0.5% gain and well short of the 1.8% increase recorded in April. | 
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