Daily News
Australia and Japan Markets Climb, Looking Past Iran War Escalation Fears
01 May'26
Today in Brief
Australia and Japan markets climb, looking past Iran war escalation fears.
Global markets, commodities, and geopolitical tensions continue to drive sharp swings across regions.
Australia and Japan markets climb, looking past Iran war escalation fears
Markets in Australia and Japan rose Friday, mirroring gains on Wall Street that saw both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite reach new highs. This comes as investors took in strong earnings from Apple and Caterpillar, looking past weaker-than-expected economic data and threats of escalation in Iran by U.S. President Donald Trump. Brent crude prices briefly surged to $126 a barrel after Axios reported that the U.S. military would brief Trump on potential action against Iran. However, Brent's June contract, which expired on Thursday, later settled at $114.01 a barrel, while U.S West Texas Intermediate was 0.61% up at $105.71, as of 7:46 p.m. ET. Brent futures for July delivery closed at $110.4.
Dow surges nearly 800 points, S&P 500 posts first close above 7,200 and best month since 2020
Stocks rose on Thursday, with the S&P 500 reaching a fresh all-time high, as investors reacted to upbeat earnings from Caterpillar and Alphabet and moved past fears of a possible escalation between the U.S. and Iran. The broad market index rose 1.02% to close at 7,209.01, its first close above the 7,200 threshold. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 0.89% to 24,892.31, hitting new intraday and closing records as well. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added 790.33 points, or 1.62%, to settle at 49,652.14. Caterpillar shares popped nearly 10% on Thursday after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly figures, boosting the Dow.
Gold steadied above $4,600 an ounce on Friday after rising nearly 2% in the prior session
Gold steadied above $4,600 an ounce on Friday after rising nearly 2% in the prior session, supported by a sharp depreciation in the US dollar following reports that Japan intervened in currency markets. A softer greenback typically lends support to gold, which is priced in US dollars. Despite this, bullion remains on track for a second weekly decline amid dimming prospects for a US-Iran peace deal and expectations that the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen anytime soon. Trump said that the US would maintain its naval blockade of Iranian ports, while Tehran pledged not to abandon its nuclear program and signalled it would retain control of the strait.
WTI crude futures held above $105 per barrel on Friday and were set for a second weekly gain
WTI crude futures held above $105 per barrel on Friday and were set for a second weekly gain, amid dimming prospects for a US-Iran peace deal and expectations that the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen anytime soon. President Donald Trump reaffirmed that the US would maintain its naval blockade of Iranian ports to intensify economic pressure. Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei also dampened prospects for a deal, pledging not to relinquish the Islamic Republic's nuclear or missile capabilities and indicating that Tehran would retain control over the strait. Meanwhile, analysts cautioned that several countries could soon face acute oil shortages, as the final shipments that departed the Persian Gulf have already arrived at their destinations.
Core inflation rate hit 3.2% in March as first-quarter growth disappointed at 2%
Consumers faced escalating prices in March as the Iran war sent oil soaring and created a new level of challenges for the Federal Reserve, according to a batch of reports Thursday that showed economic growth slower than expected and a generational low in layoffs. The core personal consumption expenditures price index, which excludes food and energy, accelerated a seasonally adjusted 0.3% for the month, pushing the 12-month inflation rate to 3.2%, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The readings matched the Dow Jones consensus estimates. Core inflation hit its highest level since November 2023. Including the volatile gas and groceries components saw higher readings, with the monthly gain at 0.7% and the annual rate hitting 3.5%, also in line with forecasts.
Trump said his blockade would cause Iran's oil industry to 'explode' this week
Locked in a standoff with Iran that will break only when economic pain is no longer tolerable, President Donald Trump may have to maintain his naval blockade against Iran for weeks — forcing serious economic consequences on the world. Trump said Wednesday that he will keep the U.S. blockade against Iran in place until it agrees to a nuclear deal. Tehran, meanwhile, refuses to reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the U.S. calls off its Navy. It's unclear which side will budge first. Trump said Sunday that Iran's oil infrastructure is days away from exploding because crude is bottled up due to the blockade. "Something happens where it just explodes," Trump told Fox News. "They say they have only three days left before that happens. When it explodes, you can never rebuild it the way it was."
European Central Bank keeps rates on hold in the face of inflation threat
The European Central Bank kept interest rates on hold at its April meeting, despite a surge in inflation in the euro zone since the war in Iran began. The ECB's governing council opted to hold its benchmark deposit facility rate at 2% on Thursday. In a statement, the bank said that while its previous assessment of the inflation outlook was largely unchanged, "the upside risks to inflation and the downside risks to growth have intensified." It said its governing council remained committed to setting monetary policy to ensure that inflation stabilizes at the 2% target in the medium term.
Bank of England faces the 'most difficult combination,' says governor Bailey as energy prices soar
Bank of England policymakers must contend with the "most difficult combination" of economic effects, according to governor Andrew Bailey, as the U.K. faces the consequences of an energy price shock. The U.K. central bank chief told CNBC in an interview on Thursday that the outlook for energy prices is "very uncertain" but a "a long-lived effect" of this kind will likely see price growth feed into the rest of the economy and embed inflation more deeply. "This is what we'd call a negative supply shock. In other words, unfortunately, the increase in price of energy product... is also having...a negative effect on activity in economy," he said. "That's a difficult combination." It came after the bank's Monetary Policy Committee voted in an 8-1 split to maintain the benchmark rate, known as the "Bank Rate", at 3.75%, with known hawk BOE Chief Economist Huw Pill the only dissenter voting for a 25 basis-point increase.
First Solar beats Q1 earnings estimates on strong module sales, reaffirms guidance
First Solar Inc. reported first-quarter earnings that exceeded analyst expectations, though revenue fell slightly short of estimates, as the solar manufacturer benefited from increased module shipments. The stock rose 0.2% after hours following the results after closing 5.92% higher Thursday. The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $3.22 for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, beating the analyst consensus of $3.08 by $0.14. Revenue reached $1.04 billion, a 24% increase from $844.6 million in the same quarter last year, but came in just below the analyst estimate of $1.05 billion. Net income rose 65% YoY to $347 million, driven primarily by higher module sales volumes to third parties. Adjusted EBITDA totalled $520 million, up from $379 million in the prior-year period and above the top end of the company's first-quarter preview range.
Google cloud growth tops Microsoft and Amazon as all three beat estimates on AI demand
All three top cloud infrastructure providers surpassed analyst estimates in earnings reports late Wednesday, but Google was the standout, generating its fastest growth rate on record. Google is chasing Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure in the public cloud market, which is booming as demand soars for access to artificial intelligence models and services. All three vendors provide a suite of tools for building and running companies' products, and they also offer an array of their own AI models and specialized hardware. "Wow, that was some quarter," Synergy Research analyst John Dinsdale said in an email after the results were released. His firm estimated that cloud infrastructure spending reached $129 billion in the period.
Apple revenue guidance tops estimates on booming iPhone, Mac demand
Apple issued a better-than-expected revenue forecast for the current period after beating on sales and earnings in the fiscal second quarter. The stock rose about 3% in extended trading. Sales for iPhones missed estimates for the second time in three quarters, the only significant number that came up short of expectations in Thursday's report. Revenue climbed 17% from $95.4 billion a year earlier, Apple said. It was the first time the company faced Wall Street since the announcement last week that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO after 15 years on the job. Apple said on the earnings call that revenue in the June quarter will increase between 14% and 17% from a year earlier. Analysts were expecting growth of 9.5% to $103 billion, according to LSEG.
SanDisk Q3 revenue surges 251%, crushes Wall Street targets on datacenter growth
Sandisk on Thursday reported a 251% jump in its third quarter revenue that sailed past Wall Street expectations helped by strong demand for datacenter offerings and higher prices. The company said its third quarter revenue was $5.95 billion, jumping 251% from the year-ago quarter. It also sailed past analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. "This quarter marks a fundamental inflection point for Sandisk — where our technology leadership is enabling a deliberate shift in our mix toward the highest-value end markets, led by Datacenter," said David Goeckeler, CEO of Sandisk. SanDisk also reported adjusted earnings per share of $23.41, $8.75 better than the analyst estimate of $14.66. Goeckeler noted that SanDisk is advancing to a new business model built on multi-year customer engagements backed by firm financial commitments.
