Stocks and bonds dropped as stalled US-Iran talks and the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz drove oil prices higher, souring risk sentiment after a record rally on Wall Street. MSCI’s Asia Pacific equity gauge fell 1.1%, with decliners outnumbering advancers almost four to one, as higher oil prices damp the outlook for economic growth. Futures contracts for the S&P 500 Index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 both dropped 0.6%, after the underlying gauges closed at a record high on Wednesday on robust corporate earnings and the extension of the US-Iran ceasefire. Brent crude climbed 1.5% to $103.40 a barrel, putting it on track for a fourth straight day of gains, due to a lack of progress in US-Iran talks. The benchmark has surged 70% this year, with most of the advance coming after the Middle East conflict started in late February. Bonds fell as higher oil prices stoked inflation concerns.
While President Donald Trump said a truce with Iran would remain in place indefinitely, investors remain wary of the lack of progress in talks to resolve the nearly two-month conflict. The longer the war drags on and the Strait of Hormuz stays shut, keeping oil prices elevated, the greater the risk of significant economic fallout for economies worldwide. Tensions remain high as the US and Iran failed to meet for a fresh round of peace talks, with both sides blocking the waterway to gain leverage during an extended ceasefire. Tehran says it has no plans to take part in negotiations imminently. The US maintained a naval blockade on ships going to and from Iran’s ports to pile pressure on the Islamic Republic, in a move Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called a violation of the ceasefire. Treasuries headed for a fourth day of losses, with the 10-year yield rising two basis points to 4.32%, while the dollar gained against most of its major peers.In other corners of the market, gold slipped 0.8% to about $4,700 an ounce, while silver declined 2% to about $76.15 an ounce. Bitcoin was a touch weaker at about $77,800.
Greg Calnon, Global Head of Public Investing at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, discusses his outlook for markets and investment strategy. Technology stocks, which rallied at the start of Asian trading on robust corporate earnings, also erased gains. MSCI’s gauge for tech stocks in the Asian region fell 0.7%. South Korea’s Kospi Index — a poster child for artificial intelligence investments — erased an earlier jump of 2.2% to trade 0.7% lower.
One positive news was strong earnings from companies. Boeing Co. jumped on solid first-quarter deliveries. Tesla Inc. reported earnings that beat estimates. Texas Instruments Inc. gave a strong forecast for the current period. In Asia, SK Hynix Inc. reported a five-fold increase in profit. Robust corporate profits, the revival of the artificial-intelligence trade and an otherwise resilient economy have buoyed stocks despite lingering geopolitical risks. Nearly 80% of the S&P 500 companies reporting first-quarter results have beaten analyst earnings estimates so far, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index gained for a record 16th day as investors bet on continued strength driven by artificial intelligence-related demand. US After ASGN -23.8%, MEDP -18.7%, NOW -12.8%, IBM -6.5%, LUV -3.9% lower on earnings; LULU -4.9% lower after naming Nike exec as new CEO.
Nikkei -0.92% Hang Seng -1.12% CSI -0.79% Shanghai -0.79% Shenzen -1.61%
Eur$ 1.1702 CNH 6.8337 CNY 6.8316 JPY 159.55 GBP 1.3492 CHF 0.7855 RUB 75.0870 TRY 44.9257 WTI$ 94.05 +1.39% Gold 4,710 -0.46% BTC 78,013 -1.26% ETH 2,351 -1.75%
S&P -0.52% Nasdaq -0.51% EuroStoxx -0.75% FTSE -0.51% Dax -0.87% SMI
Macro :
- EU March Car Registrations Rise 12.5% Y/y to 1.158m Units, Europe Car Sales Jump 11% as Strong EV Demand Drives Recovery
- Iran Fires on Hormuz Ships as US Navy Intercepts Oil Tankers
Keep an eye on :
- Iran Fires on Hormuz Ships as US Navy Intercepts Oil Tankers
Keep an eye on :
- ABBV US : AbbVie Announces $1.4b Manufacturing Campus in North Carolina
- ABVX FP : Abivax to Present Data on Obefazimod at Digestive Disease Week 2/5 May 2026
- AF FP : Air France-KLM, Lufthansa Bids for Portugal’s TAP Set to Advance
- AI FP : Air Liquide to Invest Over $350m in Louisiana
- BABA US : Taiwan to Review Chinese Mapping App AMap, Consider Ban: CNA
- BABA US : Tencent, Alibaba in Talks to Join DeepSeek’s First Funding Round
- AAPL US : Tim Cook Regrets Maps Flub, Sees Apple Watch as Proudest Work
- ASML NA : TSMC Says ASML’s Latest Chipmaking Gear Is Too Pricey to Use
- ATRAV FH : Atria 1Q Sales Beat Estimates
- AUTO NO : Autostore 1Q Revenue Beats Estimates
- AXFO SS : Axfood 1Q Operating Profit Misses Estimates
- AZE BB : Azelis 1Q Adjusted Ebita Beats Estimates
- BKT SM : Bankinter 1Q Net Income Beats Estimates
- BAS GY : BASF Gets Positive Catalyst Watch at Citi on Earnings Inflection
- BHG SS : BHG Group 1Q Adjusted Ebitda SEK129.5M Vs. SEK105.0M Y/y
- BIM FP : BioMerieux Cuts FY Organic Sales Forecast
- BMW GY : BMW Sees Uptick in EV Buyer Interest in US After Gas Prices Rise
- BMW GY : BMW Sees Uptick in EV Buyer Interest in US After Gas Prices Rise
- CA FP : Carrefour 1Q LFL Sales Ex-Fuel, Ex-Calendar Beat Estimates
- DSY FP : Dassault Systemes Sees 2Q Non-IFRS Rev Ex-FX +2% to +5%
- DNB NO : DNB Bank 1Q Return on Equity Beats Estimates
- DOM SS : Dometic 1Q Ebit Beats Estimates
- EQT SS : EQT Is Said to Consider Takeover of Kakaku.com
- ERA FP : Eramet Sees FY Capital Expenditure EU250M to EU290M
- EL FP : EssilorLuxottica 1Q Rev. Ex-FX Misses Estimates, EssilorLuxottica Posts 11% Sales Jump, Extends AI Glasses Boost
- ESSITYA SS : Essity to Start New Share Buyback Program of SEK3 Billion, Essity 1Q Revenue Meets Estimates
- EPR NO : Europris 1Q Revenue Beats Estimates
- FABG SS : Fabege 1Q Rental Income Meets Estimates
- FTK GY : FlatexDEGIRO 1Q Ebitda Beats Estimates
- GALD SW : Galderma 1Q Net Sales Beat Estimates, Galderma 1Q Net Sales Beat Estimates; Confirms FY Guidance
- GFC FP : Gecina 1Q Like-for-Like Rental +2.3%
- GET FP : Getlink 1Q Revenue Beats Estimates
- GTT FP : GTT 1Q Revenue EU192.5M Vs. EU190.5M Y/y
- HMS SS :HMS Networks 1Q Sales Beat Estimates
- HNSA SS : Hansa Biopharma 1Q Net Revenue Misses Estimates
- HEIA NA : Heineken 1Q Europe Adjusted Net Revenue Misses Estimates
- HUSQB SS : Husqvarna 1Q Net Sales Beat Estimates
- IBM US : IBM Posts Software Sales That Fail to Shake AI Concerns
- ITRK LN : Nelson Peltz’s Son Builds Public Activist Stake in Intertek: FT
- KMI US : Kinder Morgan 1Q Adjusted EPS Beats Estimates
- KOG NO : Kongsberg Maritime Trading to Begin with NOK67 Reference Price
- LVS US : Las Vegas Sands 1Q Adjusted EPS Beats Estimates
- LULU US : Lululemon Slumps as Ex-Nike Executive Named New CEO: Street Wrap
- MARAS FH : Martela 1Q Revenue Misses Estimates
- MSFT US : Microsoft looked at buying Cursor before SpaceX deal, sources say
- MIPS SS : Mips 1Q Net Sales Meet Estimates
- NAVA NO : Navamedic 1Q Revenue Misses Estimates
- NEL NO : Nel Receives $7 Million Order For Hydrogen Equipment
- NESN SW : Nestle 1Q Organic Revenue Beats Estimates
- NEWAB SS : New Wave 1Q Sales Under Estimates
- NORION SS : Norion Bank Initiates SEK 500 Million Share Buyback Program
- NOKIA FH : Nokia 1Q Adjusted Operating Profit Beats Estimates
- ORA FP : Orange Profits Rise on Africa Growth and Easing Competition
- OR FP : L’Oreal 1Q Like-for-Like Sales +7.6%
- PCELL SS : PowerCell 1Q Sales SEK46.9M Vs. SEK74.1M Y/y
- PRICB SS : Pricer 1Q Sales Beat Estimates
- RPI LN : Raspberry Pi Holder Offers 5% of Company, Raspberry PI Offering by Holder Prices at GBp550/Share: Terms
- RNO FP : Renault 1Q Revenue Beats Estimates
- ROG SW : Roche Granted FDA Orphan Drug Status for Divarasib
- ROG SW :
- SAAB SS : Saab 1Q Operating Profit Beats Estimates
- SAF FP : Safran 1Q Organic Adjusted Revenue Beats Estimates
- SAN FP : Sanofi, Regeneron’s Dupixent Approved in US for Skin Disease
- SRT GY : Sartorius 1Q Adjusted Ebitda Meets Estimates
- SVANFL FH : Scanfil 1Q EPS Misses Estimates, Scanfil 1Q Turnover Misses Estimates
- SCHP SW : Schindler 1Q Revenue Misses Estimates
- SEDANA SS : Sedana Medical 1Q Sales Miss Estimates
- SGSN SW : SGS 1Q Sales CHF1.75B Vs. CHF1.68B Y/y
- SIP BB : Sipef 1Q Palm Oil Output 100,878 Metric Tons
- 000660 KS : SK Hynix Targets Mass Production of Cutting-Edge HBM4E in 2027
- 9984 JP : SoftBank Seeks $10 Billion Loan Backed by OpenAI Shares
- TEF SM : America Movil CEO: Telefonica Wasn’t Investing Enough in Mexico
- TXN US : Texas Instruments Jumps on Strong Results and Forecast
- TEL NO : Telenor Grameenphone 1Q Consol. Operating Profit NOK1.03B
- TSLA US : Tesla Boosts Spending Plan to $25 Billion in AI, Robotics Push
- UBSG SW : Swiss Bank Reforms to Make UBS’s US Growth More Costly: Minister
- UBSG SW : UBS Sees $4 Billion Capital Impact From Swiss Executive Order
- VPLAYB SS : Viaplay 1Q Ebit Loss SEK234M
- VONN SW : Vontobel Assets Under Management CHF240.1B
- MF FP : Wendel Now Sees FY Mid-Single-Digit Org. Revenue Growth