SPX: S&P 500 Futures Slide as Traders Eye Big Week Ahead. Here’s What to Look Out for.

Trump’s squad is headed to London for trade talks with China — that’s Monday. Inflation data hits the deck on Wednesday and markets will be looking for a slight uptick in prices.

🦆 Action-Packed Week? Better Duck

• S&P 500 futures ducked early Monday as traders prepped for a blockbuster stretch of headlines — from top-tier diplomacy to market-moving data. The broad index is flirting with the 6,000 mark, and sentiment feels like the calm before a potential storm.
• One catalyst? Trump’s trade crew — Bessent, Lutnick, and Greer — are en route to London for high-stakes talks with Chinese officials. The focus, of course, is on tariffs, tech, and maybe a little theatrical brinkmanship to stir the pot.
• Next up is Wednesday’s inflation report, where the consumer price index (CPI) is expected to show a modest uptick. Followed by Friday’s producer price index (PPI), the data duo could swing the market’s expectations on interest rate policy fast.

🍿 Girl Drama: Where’s It Heading?

• As you prepare your trading accounts for some action amid plenty of trading opportunities, let’s catch you up real quick. First off, how’s the girl drama going?
• The once-cozy bromance between Donald Trump and Elon Musk appears to be in full meltdown mode. What started as a huge policy effort has turned into social media sniping and backdoor leaks.
• For Tesla TSLA, this adds a layer of political risk just as its stock was rebounding — and for tech traders broadly, it’s another signal that Washington and Silicon Valley are on diverging paths.
• Investors are factoring in potential consequences, especially if Musk’s ventures — SpaceX, Tesla, or xAI — get caught in the crossfire of political theatrics or shifting trade agendas.

🎯 Inflation Watch: Cast Your Bets

• After a brief cooling, consumer prices may be inching higher again, according to forecasts for Wednesday’s CPI USCPI. Wall Street is eyeing May’s print to show a 2.5% price jump, up from April’s four-year low of 2.3%. A hotter print could reignite concerns that the Fed might stay tighter for longer.
• Meanwhile, PPI on Friday will give insight into upstream cost pressures, especially important for margin-sensitive sectors like retail and manufacturing.
• If both inflation prints come in hot, the market could reprice rate expectations — and that could mean turbulence for rate-sensitive sectors like real estate, tech, and consumer discretionary.