- Asian Stocks Gain, Oil Rises on Israel-Iran Report: Markets Wrap
Oil rose on a CNN report that new US intelligence suggested Israel is preparing for a potential strike on Iranian
nuclear facilities. Stocks in Asia advanced. Brent crude rose above $66 a barrel. It wasn’t clear that Israeli
leaders had made a final decision to carry out the strikes, CNN said, citing officials it didn’t name. Contracts for
the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 were down 0.1%, trimming some of their losses earlier in the day. The Swiss
franc and the yen, traditional safe haven assets, inched higher. Asian shares rose 0.5%. - Dow slides more than 100 points, S&P 500 snaps six-day winning run
Stocks slipped on Tuesday as the big tech-led rally lost steam and the S&P 500 ended a six-day winning run.
The S&P 500 fell 0.39% to end at 5,940.46, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.38% and closed at 19,142.71.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 114.83 points, or 0.27%, finishing at 42,677.24. - Oil rises 1% on reports Israel preparing strike on Iranian nuclear facilities
Oil prices jumped more than 1% on Wednesday after reports Israel is preparing a strike on Iranian nuclear
facilities, raising fears that a conflict could upset supply availability in the key Middle East producing region.
Brent futures for July rose 86 cents, or 1.32%, to $66.24 a barrel by 0003 GMT. U.S. West Texas
Intermediate crude futures for July climbed 90 cents or 1.45% to $62.93. New intelligence obtained by the
United States suggests that Israel is preparing to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, CNN reported on Tuesday,
citing multiple U.S. officials familiar with the matter. It was not clear whether Israeli leaders have made a final
decision, CNN added, citing the officials. U.S. crude futures rose by more than $2 a barrel on the news while
Brent futures rose more than $1. Iran is the third-largest producer among the members of the Organization of
the Petroleum Exporting Countries and an Israeli attack could upset flows from the country. There are also
concerns Iran could retaliate by blocking oil tanker flows through the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint in the Gulf,
through which Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates export crude oil and fuel. Still, there
were some signs of improving crude supply. U.S. crude oil stocks rose last week while gasoline and distillate
inventories fell, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. - Gold hits one-week high on weaker dollar, U.S. fiscal concerns
Gold prices rose on Wednesday to their highest levels in a week as the dollar weakened and investors sought
safety amid U.S. fiscal uncertainty, with Congress debating a sweeping tax bill. Spot gold was up 0.2% at
$3,293.98 an ounce, as of 0209 GMT, after hitting its highest level since May 12 earlier in the session.
U.S. gold futures gained 0.3% to $3,295.80. The dollar retreated to its lowest level since May 8, making
greenback-priced gold cheaper for overseas currency holders. Gold, traditionally considered a safe-haven asset
during political and economic uncertainty, tends to thrive in a low-rate environment. Spot silver fell 0.2% to
$32.99 an ounce. - Trade tariffs bite: Japan’s exports to the U.S. shrink for the first time this year
Japan exports growth slowed for a second straight month, government data showed Wednesday, as the
country reels under U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Exports to the U.S., Japan’s second-largest trading
partner, fell for the first time since December last year, dropping 1.8% from a year ago. The country’s exports
to the U.S. rose 3.1% in March. Japan’s trade surplus with the U.S. narrowed to 780.6 billion yen ($5.4 billion)
in April, compared to 846.9 billion yen in March, according to the official figures. Overall, exports growth of 2%
was in line with Reuters-polled analysts’ estimates, but its slowest since October last year and the worst
showing since September when shipments fell 1.7%. The country’s imports shrank 2.2% from a year ago, less
than estimates of a 4.5% decline. Japan’s exports of transport equipment, including motor vehicles and parts,
to the U.S. fell 4.1% by value from a year earlier. Automobiles are Japan’s top export to the U.S., accounting
for 28.3% of all shipments in 2024, according to customs data. Japan is being charged a 25% levy on its
auto, steel and aluminum exports to the U.S. The key U.S. ally is also subject to the 10% baseline tariffs imposed
by Trump on most trade partners. Japanese goods also face “reciprocal” tariffs of 24% which have been
temporarily suspended. Trump on April 2 levied “reciprocal” tariffs on more than 180 countries including Japan,
only to suspend them about a week later for 90 days following market turmoil, and allowing trade partners to
strike deals with Washington during this period. - South Korea vows support for biopharmaceutical, auto sectors over US tariffs
South Korea’s government pledged on Wednesday more support measures for key export industries, including
the biopharmaceutical and auto sectors, which are expected to be hit by U.S. President Donald Trump’s
sweeping tariffs. The government will prepare new measures to support its biopharmaceutical companies, as
soon as details of Trump’s tariffs on the sector become available, it said in a statement. Earlier this month,
Trump signed an executive order aimed at reducing the time it takes to approve pharmaceutical plants in the
country. The move is part of new regulations to encourage domestic manufacturing, coming after Trump
launched probes into pharmaceutical imports in order to put tariffs on the sector. South Korea’s exports of
pharmaceutical products stood at $9.59 billion in 2024, accounting for just 1.4% of its total exports. Still, 16%
of the exports were shipped to the United States, the biggest market. - Israel preparing possible strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, CNN reports
Israel is preparing for a potential military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, as the U.S. continues to pursue a
diplomatic agreement with Tehran, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing multiple U.S. officials familiar with recent
intelligence. While Israeli leaders have not made a final decision, intercepted communications and observed
military movements, including air munitions transfers and completed air drills, have heightened U.S. concerns,
CNN said. One source told CNN that the likelihood of an Israeli strike has “gone up significantly” in recent
months. The person added that a US-Iran nuclear deal under President Donald Trump that doesn’t eliminate
all Iranian uranium makes a strike more likely. Any strike would represent a significant break with Trump, who
has prioritized diplomacy but warned of possible military action should nuclear talks fail, the CNN report said.
Trump reportedly gave Iran’s Supreme Leader a 60-day deadline in March to reach a deal. That deadline has
passed. A strike could also inflame tensions in a region already destabilized by the war in Gaza. The CNN report
stated that despite the risks, Israeli leaders appear willing to act if Washington pursues a deal they view as
inadequate. Israel lacks the capacity to destroy Iran’s nuclear program without U.S. military support, but could
act alone to derail a prospective agreement, CNN reported. - Elon Musk says Tesla, xAI expect to keep buying chips from Nvidia and AMD
Elon Musk said Tuesday that he expects Tesla and xAI will continue buying chips from semiconductor giants
Nvidia and AMD, and possibly others. Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, which now owns social media
platform X, has already installed 200,000 GPUs at its Colossus facility in Memphis, Tennessee, the Tesla CEO
told CNBC’s David Faber on Tuesday. XAI is also planning a 1 million GPU facility outside Memphis, Musk said.
He did not specify how many chips the company had already ordered and by which date they may be installed.
“A few years ago, I made a very obvious prediction, which is that the limitation on AI will be chips,” he said. - Amer Sports beats Q1 estimates, shares surge nearly 6% on strong earnings
Amer Sports, Inc. (NYSE:AS) reported better-than-expected first quarter results on Tuesday. Amer Sports’ stock
jumped 19% in pre-market trading following the earnings release. The sporting goods company posted
adjusted earnings per share of $0.27, surpassing the analyst consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.08. Revenue
for the quarter came in at $1.47 billion. The company did not provide specific forward guidance in its earnings
release. Analysts will likely seek more color on the outlook during Amer Sports’ upcoming conference call. Amer
Sports owns several well-known sporting goods and apparel brands including Salomon, Arc’teryx, Peak
Performance, Atomic, and Wilson. The strong Q1 results suggest the company is successfully executing its
strategy across its brand portfolio. - Vodafone shares rose 7.3% after reporting organic service revenue for the fourth quarter that beat the
average analyst estimate
FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS: Organic service revenue +5.4%, estimate +4.19%. YEAR RESULTS: Revenue
EU37.45 billion, +2% y/y. Adjusted Ebitda after leases EU10.93 billion, -0.8% y/y, estimate EU10.99 billion.
Adjusted EPS EU0.0787 vs. EU0.0747 y/y. 2026 YEAR FORECAST: Sees adjusted Ebitda after leases EU11.0 billion
to EU11.3 billion, estimate EU11.18 billion. Sees adjusted free cash flow EU2.6 billion to EU2.8 billion. - Airbnb shares fell 3.3% after a New York Times article said that the Spanish government ordered the
company to remove almost 66,000 listings from its platform
The move widens a “crackdown on tourist rentals as it seeks to alleviate a housing crisis that has become
among the worst in Europe,” the New York Times said. Airbnb said in a statement that it would continue to
appeal all decisions linked to the case, according to the article; a company spokesperson said the listings would
be kept up until the appeal made its way through the courts. - Palo Alto Networks shares are down 3.9% in afterhours trading, after the infrastructure software
company reported its third-quarter results and gave an outlook
THIRD QUARTER RESULTS: Adjusted EPS 80c. Revenue $2.29 billion, +15% y/y, estimate $2.28 billion.
Remaining performance obligations $13.5 billion, +19% y/y, estimate $13.62 billion. Next-generation security
ARR $5.1 billion, estimate $5.08 billion. FOURTH QUARTER FORECAST: Sees Next-generation security ARR $5.52
billion to $5.57 billion, estimate $5.57 billion. Sees adjusted EPS 87c to 89c, estimate 87c. Sees revenue $2.49
billion to $2.51 billion, estimate $2.5 billion. Sees remaining performance obligations $15.2 billion to $15.3
billion, estimate $15.25 billion. YEAR FORECAST: Sees adjusted EPS $3.26 to $3.28, estimate $3.23. Sees
revenue $9.17 billion to $9.19 billion, saw $9.14 billion to $9.19 billion, estimate $9.17 billion. Still sees Next
generation security ARR $5.52 billion to $5.57 billion, estimate $5.45 billion. Still sees remaining performance
obligations $15.2 billion to $15.3 billion, estimate $15.25 billion. Bloomberg Intelligence: “Palo Alto reported a
sequential increase in ‘platformization’ deals, yet 19% growth in remaining performance obligations was the
slowest in six quarters, suggesting limited backlog visibility”.
