- Asian Stocks Slip with US CPI, Fed in Focus: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks shrugged off a positive US session and opened lower as a double-whammy of US inflation data and the Federal Reserve decision landing later in the day kept traders on edge. Equities slipped in Japan and Australia, while those in South Korea climbed. Contracts signalled early losses for stocks in Hong Kong even after the S&P 500 closed at a new high.
- Oil Holds Gain as Industry Report Points to Lower US Stockpiles
(Bloomberg) — Oil held a two-day gain after industry data pointed to shrinking US crude stockpiles ahead of a report from the IEA on the market outlook. Brent futures traded near $82 a barrel after rising almost 3% at the start of the week, while West Texas Intermediate was above $78. The American Petroleum Institute reported that US crude inventories dropped by 2.4 million barrels last week, according to people familiar with the data.
- Japan’s Producer Inflation Hits Fastest Clip in Nine Months
(Bloomberg) — The pace of gains in Japan’s producer prices quickened more than expected in May, registering the fastest clip in nine months, adding to signs of simmering inflationary pressure ahead of the Bank of Japan’s meeting this week. The measure of input prices for Japanese firms rose 2.4% from a year earlier, the BOJ reported Wednesday.
- Macron’s Election Gamble Triggers Chaos and Anger in His Party
(Bloomberg) — Emmanuel Macron’s decision to plunge into an election campaign with his party unprepared and the French public shunning him is causing consternation among the very people he needs to win. Lawmakers and officials from the 46-year-old president’s Renaissance party were still struggling to come to terms with the plan on Tuesday.
- Malawi VP confirmed dead in plane crash in forest
The wreck of a plane carrying Malawi’s vice-president has been found with no survivors, President Lazarus Chakwera has said. Saulos Chilima and nine others were flying within the country on Monday morning when their aircraft disappeared from airport radars. The plane, a military aircraft, was flying in bad weather. Soldiers had been searching Chikangawa Forest overnight and into the morning in an effort to find the plane. In a news briefing on Tuesday, President Chakwera said the Malawi Defence Force commander informed him that the search and rescue operation had been completed and the plane was found.
- World Bank Raises Global Growth Forecast on Strong US Expansion
(Bloomberg) — The World Bank raised its forecast for global growth this year on strong US expansion, while warning that climate change, wars and high debt will hurt the poorer countries where most of the world’s population lives. The bank boosted its projection to 2.6% from a 2.4% forecast in January, according to the Global Economic Prospects report released on Tuesday.
- South Korea’s Jobs Growth Cools to Slowest Pace Since 2021
(Bloomberg) — South Korea’s labor market showed signs of cooling in May as employment growth slowed to its slowest pace in more than three years, a weak outcome that may support the case for authorities to consider adjusting policy. The number of new jobs increased by 80,000 in May, compared with 261,000 a month earlier, according to data released Wednesday by the South Korean government.
- Labour Needs Space to Move on UK Tax, Former Leader Kinnock Says
(Bloomberg) — Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and his shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves should leave themselves wriggle room to raise UK taxation if needed, former leader Neil Kinnock suggested, as the party’s current leadership faces increasing pressure to rule out an array of tax rises. “Every government needs room to manoeuvre” in office, Kinnock, who led Labour for almost a decade between 1983 and 1992, told Bloomberg on Tuesday in an interview at his home in London.
- Fed Faces Dot-Plot Cliffhanger as CPI Looms: Decision-Day Guide
(Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve officials may not be ready to finalize closely watched projections for interest rates until the publication of a key report on consumer prices on the final day of their two-day policy meeting. Disappointing inflation data since the projections were last updated in March are almost certain to prompt a downgrade to the number of rate cuts envisioned for this year. But the May consumer price index reading, out Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. New York time, will probably help determine how many reductions get taken out of the central bank’s “dot plot” displaying the expected rate path.
- Elliott Steps in to Back Faltering Copper Miner After Bankruptcy
(Bloomberg) — US hedge fund manager Elliott Investment Management has offered support to troubled Canadian miner Nevada Copper Corp. after the company filed for bankruptcy protection. Before Monday’s bankruptcy filing, Nevada Copper had attracted two bidders though it failed to close a deal with either one, Chief Financial Officer Gregory J. Martin said in a court filing.
- Cold Storage Firm Lineage Is Said to Seek $3 Billion-Plus in IPO
(Bloomberg) — Logistics giant Lineage is seeking to raise more than $3 billion in a US initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said, in what would be the largest listing this year. The company may seek as much as $3.5 billion, some of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public.
- Dollar’s Rise Toward 2024 High Aided by CPI, Fed Speculation
(Bloomberg) — The dollar is rising toward a new high for the year on speculation that Wednesday’s US inflation reading and Federal Reserve policy decision will increase demand. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose Tuesday for a fourth straight session, climbing a total of 1.1% in that period, amid help from last week’s report of US jobs growth and political turbulence in Europe. The gauge now trades about 0.4% below this year’s peak reached on April 19.
- French Bonds Tumble Most Since 2020 on Macron Resignation Rumors
(Bloomberg) — French bonds tumbled, driving the biggest two-day jump in yields since the pandemic, as rumours fly about President Emmanuel Macron’s future following his decision to call a snap election. Some market participants pointed to speculation that Macron was preparing to announce his resignation, which has been swiftly denied by a person close to him.
- Penn Entertainments gains amid Boyd gaming speculation after board addition
Penn Entertainment (PENN) rose 1.2% at least partly after Boyd Gaming (BYD) gaming added a director with investment banking experience to its board. Boyd Gaming (BYD), which is speculated to potentially interested in buying all or parts of Penn Entertainment (PENN), announced on Monday that it added Michael A. Hartmeier to its board.
- Apple shares surged 7.26% after it introduced its highly anticipated artificial intelligence features.
This included tools supported by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and the company also promised to deliver technology that is personalised, safe and deeply integrated into Apple’s software. The platform, “Apple intelligence”, will help to summarise text, create original images, and retrieve the most relevant data for its users. Apple also announced new versions of operating systems for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
- Oracle shares rose as much as 9% in extended trading on Tuesday, despite reporting a mixed fourth quarter earnings result.
Adjusted revenue came in at $14.29 billion, +3.3% YoY, missing estimates of $14.57 billion. Adjusted earnings per share was at $1.63 vs $1.67 YoY, while estimates were at $1.65. However, Oracle’s Cloud Infrastructure revenue was better than expected, which came in at $2.0 billion, +43% YoY, beating estimates of $1.97 billion. The rise of Oracle shares was also due to the company’s announcement of its cloud infrastructure partnership with Google Cloud, as well as one with Microsoft and Open AI.
- Shares of NextEra Energy fell 5.5% after the energy company guided for 2027 adjusted earnings per share that was lower than analysts’ estimates.
NextEra reaffirmed its adjusted EPS outlook through 2026 and guided for 2027 adjusted EPS between $3.85 and $4.32 a share. Wall Street analysts were expecting $4.33 a share. NextEra’s stock has been trending downward six of the seven past trading days. The company on Friday announced a five-year joint development agreement to accelerate solar generation and energy storage projects with Entergy.
- General Motors Co. authorized a new $6 billion share buyback plan as improving profitability in its primary business and growth in electric vehicles allow the automaker to return cash to investors.
The company plans to “opportunistically” buy its stock under the new program after completing a $10 billion accelerated share repurchase approved last November, according to a statement Tuesday. GM expects to exhaust the remaining $1.1 billion of the prior plan by the end of this quarter. The decision builds on the momentum GM saw coming out of the first quarter, when strength in domestic truck and SUV sales helped it overcome challenges in China and raise its full-year profit forecast, and reflects management’s shift to being a value play for shareholders. The automaker is still investing in electric vehicles but the market is growing slower, so the company is returning cash to the investors. The automaker in January raised its quarterly dividend 33% to 12 cents a share. Shares rose 1.3%.
- Autodesk shares fell 3.1% as the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice probe the software company after it announced the results of an internal investigation of accounting practices. The company also reported first-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates.
Autodesk voluntarily informed the SEC and was contacted by the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California regarding the internal investigation, it said in a filing. The company said it is cooperating with both probes. Autodesk said no financial statements would be restated or adjusted after the results of the investigation, conducted by the board’s audit committee. FIRST QUARTER RESULTS: Net revenue $1.42 billion, +12% y/y, estimate $1.4 billion. Subscription net revenue $1.33 billion, +11% y/y, estimate $1.32 billion. Adjusted operating margin 34.5% vs. 31.8% y/y, estimate 33.4%. Adjusted EPS $1.87 vs. $1.55 y/y, estimate $1.77.
- European mining stocks were amongst the worst performers in Europe on Tuesday as they followed copper and iron ore prices lower, with both commodities weakened by concerns over Chinese demand.
Iron ore prices slumped to the lowest level in two months as doubts persisted over how successful China’s efforts to ease its protracted property crisis will be, while copper dropped near to its lowest level in more than a month as investors weighed muted purchases from Chinese fabricators even after a pullback in prices.