Global Market Overview

Fixed Income Market Overview

Federal Reserve officials expressed growing concerns about inflation at their April 30-May 1 meeting, deciding against reducing interest rates soon. Despite some progress, inflation remains above  the 2% target, with recent data showing significant price increases. The Fed unanimously held the benchmark rate at 5.25%-5.5%, citing solid economic growth but noting upside inflation risks, particularly from geopolitical events. Officials highlighted financial pressures on low- and moderate-income households and were uncertain about the timeline for reaching the 2% inflation target.  Market expectations for rate cuts shifted, with a first cut likely in September and a second cut in December less certain. U.S. Treasury yields rose on Thursday after better-than-expected economic  data, with the 10-year yield at 4.494% and the 2-year yield at 4.952%. Positive services and manufacturing surveys and a drop in jobless claims to 215,000 indicated economic strength.

Volkswagen in concrete discussions over car partnerships in India.

Google Picks Southern Indian State for Smartphone Production.

Oil prices bounce back after three-day decline but still on pace for weekly loss.

Big Tech goes on AI charm offensive in Europe as regulators circle.

Major Indicies

Bonds

Futures & Commodities

Equity Market Overview

Alibaba Group

Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed shares declined over 5% amid reports of a potential $5 billion convertible bond offering, with shares ending the day 5.24% lower. Bloomberg cited sources suggesting  the bond offering could materialize soon; Alibaba confirmed plans for a $4.5 billion convertible bond sale to repurchase American depositary shares. Despite recent challenges and an 86% drop in fourth-quarter net profit, Alibaba aims to bolster growth with increased investments, including in its e-commerce and AI sectors. With cautious spending among Chinese consumers and a  sluggish economic recovery, Alibaba’s move to expand its share buyback program and pursue further investments signals its determination to navigate challenges and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

Nvidia

Nvidia’s remarkable surge is attributed to its data center business, which experienced a staggering 427% growth in the latest quarter, reflecting increasing demand for its AI processors. The  company’s focus on ensuring profitability for customers utilizing its chips signals confidence in the sustainability of the AI boom. Major clients like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure  contribute significantly to Nvidia’s data center sales, with specialized GPU data center startups also leveraging its hardware. Nvidia’s finance chief highlighted a strong return on investment for cloud providers, anticipating even higher returns with newer hardware offerings like the HDX H200. The announcement of an aggressive timeline for its next-generation GPU, Blackwell, and a  10-for-1 stock split further propelled Nvidia’s shares, reflecting investor optimism.

Wizz Air Holdings PLC

Wizz Air, the European low-cost airline, anticipates a stronger annual profit following a robust summer and heightened travel demand, marking a return to net profitability after three years.  Despite challenges such as flight cancellations and fleet grounding, Wizz Air reported a net profit of 365.9 million euros for the year ended March 31, surpassing expectations. The company  foresees net income for the current year in the range of 500 million euros to 600 million euros, with revenue per available seat kilometre expected to increase in high-single digits, reflecting ongoing robust demand for air travel. CEO Jozsef Varadi highlighted the enduring strength of air travel demand and constrained industry capacity as key factors driving a favorable yield  environment.