- Asia-Pacific markets rise after White House announces U.S.-China trade deal
Asia-Pacific markets rose Monday after the White House announced a “trade deal” with China without
providing specifics. Both countries alluded to a positive conclusion of the high-stakes trade talks, with U.S.
officials touting a deal to reduce its trade deficit, while Chinese leaders said that they have arrived at an
“important consensus.” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted that the talks yielded “a great deal” of
productivity. Meanwhile, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said a joint statement containing “good news for the
world” would be released on Monday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 1.03%, leading gains in the
region, while mainland China’s CSI 300 index climbed 0.89%.Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 and broader Topix
index pared early gains to trade flat. In South Korea, the Kospi index rose 0.47% while the small-cap Kosdaq
was flat in choppy trade. - Dow drops more than 100 points Friday as investors await U.S.-China trade talks
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped on Friday as investors awaited much-anticipated trade talks between
U.S. and Chinese officials this weekend. The 30-stock Dow lost 119.07 points, or 0.29%, and settled at
41,249.38. The S&P 500 inched down 0.07%, closing at 5,659.91. The Nasdaq Composite ended the session
little changed, ending at 17,928.92. The talks with Chinese officials follow the U.S. and United Kingdom reaching
a preliminary trade deal. Investors hope this will lead to more agreements being reached quickly. That said, a
10% tariff rate on the U.K. appears to be the baseline for the globe. On the week, the S&P 500 slid about 0.5%,
while the Nasdaq dropped roughly 0.3%. The Dow fell almost 0.2% in the period. - Oil posts weekly gain ahead of U.S.-China trade talks
Oil prices rose on Friday, posting a weekly gain as trade tensions between top oil consumers China and the
United States showed signs of easing and Britain announced a “breakthrough” U.S. trade deal. Brent crude rose
$1.07, or 1.7%, to $63.91 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.11, or 1.85%, at $61.02. On
the week, both contracts were up more than 4%. Chinese exports rose faster than expected in April while
imports narrowed their decline, customs data showed on Friday, giving Beijing some relief ahead of tariff talks.
The country’s crude oil imports in April dipped from the previous month but were up 7.5% year on year, buoyed
by stockpiling by state refiners during maintenance outages. - Gold rises as dollar eases ahead of U.S.-China trade talks
Gold rose over 1% on Friday as the dollar ticked lower, while the market digested comments on tariffs from
U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of a weekend meeting between the U.S. and China. Spot gold was up 1.1%
at $3,340.29 on Friday and has gained 3.1% so far this week. Bullion, known as a hedge against geopolitical and
economic uncertainties, has risen more than 27% since the start of the year. The U.S. dollar edged 0.3% lower,
making bullion less expensive for other currency holders. Spot silver added 0.8% to $32.75 an ounce, platinum
rose about 2% to $995.10 and palladium climbed 0.2% to $977.68. - Dollar set for weekly advance amid trade deal optimism
The dollar was set for a weekly gain against major currencies, including the Swiss franc, yen and euro on Friday,
after a U.S.-UK trade deal increased optimism about upcoming U.S.-China talks. Financial markets are heading
into the weekend with the focus squarely on trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing due to begin
on Saturday in Switzerland. President Donald Trump had announced on Thursday a U.S.-UK trade deal that left
in place a 10% baseline tariff on British goods, but lowered prohibitive duties on vehicle imports. The euro is
set for the third straight week of losses against the dollar. It was, however, last up 0.34% on the day at $1.126.
The U.S. currency is on track for the third consecutive week of gains against the Japanese yen. Sterling was
trading higher and was set for a weekly gain after losing ground on Thursday. - White House announces U.S.-China trade deal, offers few details
The White house on Sunday announced a “Trade Deal” with China following their meeting in Geneva,
after Trump administration officials spent the weekend negotiating with their Chinese counterparts. The high
stakes negotiations in Switzerland this weekend come amid widespread economic uncertainty stemming from
the U.S.-China trade war. The two nations have been engaged in a tariff tit-for-tat in the weeks since Trump
announced 145% tariffs on Beijing. In response, China raised its levies on U.S. goods to 125%. The standoff has
roiled the financial markets and sparked concerns of fewer goods and rising prices for consumers. - Putin proposes direct peace talks with Ukraine after three years of war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he is ready to start peace talks with Vladimir Putin in
Istanbul on Thursday, after Donald Trump told him to meet the Russian president there “immediately”. His
comments came after a back-and-forth in which Ukraine called for Moscow to agree to a 30-day unconditional
ceasefire starting Monday, to which Putin said the two sides should instead hold talks this week in Turkey. The
last time Zelenskyy and Putin met in person was in December 2019 in Paris, for talks brokered by French
President Emmanuel Macron and the then German chancellor Angela Merkel. The Kremlin earlier on Sunday
said it would not halt the Russian president’s three-year invasion of Ukraine without first holding talks on the
“initial reasons” for the conflict. - China CPI inflation eases in April, PPI falls as US trade war weighs
Chinese consumer price index inflation eased for a third straight month in April, while producer inflation fell
by its sharpest pace in six months as the country grappled with a bitter trade war with the United
States. CPI inflation shrank 0.1% year-on-year in April, government data showed over the weekend, in line
with expectations and after a 0.1% decline in the prior month. CPI rose 0.1% month-on-month. The reading
highlighted continued weakness in Chinese consumer spending, which Beijing has been struggling to shore up
over the past two years. Focus is now on more fiscal measures in China, which are expected to be aimed chiefly
at shoring up consumption. - Indian military warns Pakistan against ceasefire violations
The Indian military sent a “hotline message” to Pakistan on Sunday about violations of a ceasefire agreed this
week and informed it of New Delhi’s intent to respond if it was repeated, a top Indian army officer said, while
the Pakistan military’s spokesman denied any violation of the ceasefire. India’s Director General of Military
Operations (DGMO) was speaking as a fragile 24-hour-old ceasefire appeared to be holding after both sides
blamed the other for initial violations on Saturday night. The truce announced on Saturday followed four days
of intense fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours. In the worst fighting in nearly three decades, they
fired missiles and drones at each other’s military installations, killing almost 70 people. Diplomacy and pressure
from the United States helped secure the ceasefire deal when it seemed that the conflict was spiralling
alarmingly. But within hours of its coming into force, artillery fire was witnessed in Indian Kashmir, the centre
of much of last week’s fighting. - US says latest round of nuclear talks with Iran were ‘encouraging’
A fourth round of talks between the US and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear programme have taken place in Oman,
with both sides agreeing to meet again. US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff said the discussions in Muscat
were encouraging, while Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described them as “difficult but useful”. The
US has insisted that Iran must scrap its uranium enrichment to prevent the country developing nuclear
weapons, but Tehran denies it has such an aim and on Sunday again stressed it did not intend to give up the
programme. - OpenAI negotiates with Microsoft to unlock new funding and future IPO
OpenAI and Microsoft are rewriting the terms of their multibillion-dollar partnership in a high-stakes
negotiation designed to allow the ChatGPT maker to launch a future initial public offering, while protecting the
software giant’s access to cutting-edge artificial intelligence models. The contract currently runs to 2030 and
covers what access Microsoft has to OpenAI’s intellectual property such as models and products, as well as a
revenue share from product sales. That deal is critical to OpenAI’s restructuring efforts and could dictate the
future of a company which has been in the vanguard of tech groups building large language models, a
transformative technology that is beginning to disrupt global industries. - China’s CATL to raise at least $4 billion in Hong Kong listing
Chinese battery manufacturer CATL aims to raise at least HK$31.01 billion ($3.99 billion) in its Hong Kong
listing, according to its prospectus filed on Monday, year. The maker of batteries for electric vehicles is selling
117.9 million shares at a maximum offer price of HK$263 per share, according to filings lodged with the Hong
Kong Stock Exchange. The size of the deal could increase to about $5.3 billion if an offer size adjustment option
and a so-called greenshoe option are exercised. More than 20 cornerstone investors, led by Sinopec and Kuwait
Investment Authority, have subscribed to buy about $2.62 billion worth of CATL shares, the prospectus
showed. - Eli Lilly’s Zepbound outperforms Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy for weight loss in trial
Eli Lilly said on Sunday its drug Zepbound was superior to Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy across five weight-loss targets
such as reducing waist circumference, citing data from a head-to-head trial. Lilly reported in December that its
obesity drug had already met the main goal, leading to 47% more weight loss than those who received Wegovy.
Full data from the study was reported by the company in a press release and presented at the European
Congress on Obesity. The data is the first head-to-head trial comparing the wildly popular medicines, and gives
Lilly more firepower as it seeks to gain wider insurance coverage in an obesity drug market estimated to reach
more than $150 billion annually by the next decade. - Aramco profit drops as uncertainty hits oil markets
Saudi oil giant Aramco, a longtime cash cow for the kingdom, reported a 4.6% drop in first-quarter profit on
Sunday due to lower sales and higher operating costs as economic uncertainty hit crude markets. The world’s
top oil exporter reported net profit of 97.54 billion riyals ($26.01 billion) in the three months ended March 31,
which beat a company-provided median estimate from 16 analysts of $25.36 billion. The shares were up 0.64%
to 25.00 riyals intraday, though down 10.9% so far this year. While the performance was better than that of
some of its peers, including BP and Shell, whose first-quarter profits halved and fell by 28 per cent respectively,
Aramco cut its total dividend to $21.4bn from $31bn in the final quarter of last year. - CrowdStrike stock falls amid regulatory scrutiny
Shares of CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. fell by 2.5% following reports that US prosecutors and regulators are
investigating a $32 million transaction between the cybersecurity firm and technology distributor Carahsoft
Technology Corp. The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are probing the deal,
which involved supplying cybersecurity software to the Internal Revenue Service, despite the IRS not
purchasing or receiving the products. Questions have arisen about what CrowdStrike executives knew about
the transaction and whether there were any concerns raised internally about this and other transactions. As
the investigation continues, the market will be closely monitoring any developments and their implications for
CrowdStrike. For now, the company faces uncertainty as it navigates through the regulatory probe, with
investors looking for clarity and resolution in the matter.
