- Asian Stocks Rise on US Jobs Data, Korean Election: Markets Wrap
Asian stocks rose for the first time in four days after data showed the US labor market is holding up despite
concerns President Donald Trump’s tariff war is pushing the world economy into a downturn. A regional gauge
rose 0.7%, with South Korea’s Kospi Index jumping 2.4% after the country elected a new president, capping six
months of political chaos. Indexes in China and Hong Kong fluctuated at the open. The dollar edged down 0.1%
after gaining in the prior session. Yield on the 10-year US Treasuries dipped 1 basis point to 4.44%. - Dow closes 200 points higher, S&P 500 climbs as Nvidia lifts tech sector
The S&P 500 rose Tuesday, fueled by strong gains in AI leader Nvidia, as investors anticipated details on
potential U.S. trade deals. The broad market index added 0.58% to close at 5,970.37, while the Dow Jones
Industrial Average gained 214.16 points, or 0.51%, ending at 42,519.64. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.81%
and settled at 19,398.96. Nvidia, along with other chip stocks, helped drive this advance. The dominant maker
of artificial intelligence chips advanced nearly 3%, extending Monday’s gains and passing Microsoft in market
cap for the first time since January. Meanwhile, others like Broadcom and Micron Technology rose more than
3% and more than 4%, respectively. - Oil prices slip as rising OPEC+ output, tariff fears weigh on outlook
Oil prices edged lower in early Asian trade on Wednesday, weighed down by a loosening supply-demand
balance following increasing OPEC+ output and lingering concerns over the global economic outlook due
to tariff tensions. Brent crude futures dipped 5 cents, or 0.1%, to $65.58 a barrel by 0040 GMT while U.S. West
Texas Intermediate crude was at $63.32 a barrel, down 9 cents, or 0.1%. Both benchmarks climbed about 2%
on Tuesday to a two-week high, supported by worries over supply disruptions from Canadian wildfires and
expectations that Iran will reject a U.S. nuclear deal proposal that is key to easing sanctions on the
major oil producer. “Despite fears over Canadian supply and stalled Iran-U.S. nuclear talks, oil markets are
struggling to extend gains,” said Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at NLI Research Institute, adding that OPEC+
production increases were capping the upside. Ueno said hopes for progress in U.S.-China trade talks were
overshadowed by profit-taking, as investors remained cautious over the broader economic fallout from tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will likely speak this week, White House press
secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday, days after Trump accused China of violating an agreement to roll
back tariffs and trade restrictions. As the Trump administration pressed U.S. trading partners to provide
their best offers by Wednesday, the protracted negotiations and moving deadlines have led economists to
scale back growth forecasts. On Tuesday, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) cut its global growth forecast as the fallout from Trump’s trade war takes a bigger toll on the U.S.
economy. - Gold rises amid US-China trade uncertainty, softer dollar
Gold prices rose on Wednesday as uncertainty over U.S.-China trade relations and global economic concerns
bolstered safe-haven demand, with a weaker dollar providing additional support. Spot gold rose 0.6% at
$3,370.67 an ounce as of 0209 GMT. U.S. gold futures were up 0.5% to $3,394.90. “We potentially see dip
buyers coming back into the picture and if you look at today’s Asia session, rally also has been attributed to
this dollar-strength unwinding as well,” said Kelvin Wong, a senior market analyst, Asia Pacific at OANDA.
“Things are still uncertain, especially surrounding the trade relationship between China and U.S. and even in
EU and U.S. as well.” Gold is considered a safe-haven asset during economic uncertainties. The U.S. should
create the necessary conditions for bilateral relations to get back onto “the right track,” China’s Foreign
Minister Wang Yi told the U.S. ambassador to Beijing on Tuesday. The White House signaled that President
Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping might engage in talks later this week to address the trade
disagreements. Meanwhile, the U.S. announced it would forgo doubling steel and aluminum tariffs on Britain.
The U.S. dollar index fell 0.1%, making greenback-priced bullion less expensive for overseas buyers. Global
economic concerns deepened after the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) warned on Tuesday of sharper-than-expected economic slowdown, as the Trump administration’s
trade policies weigh heavily on the U.S. economy. - Euro zone inflation falls to cooler-than-expected 1.9% in May, below ECB target
Euro zone inflation fell below the European Central Bank’s 2% target in May, hitting a cooler-than-expected
1.9% on sharp declines in services, flash data from statistics agency Eurostat showed Tuesday. Economists
polled by Reuters had expected the May reading to come in at 2%, compared to the previous month’s 2.2%
figure. The closely watched services inflation print cooled significantly to 3.2% last month, compared to the
previous 4% reading. So-called core inflation, which excludes energy, food, tobacco and alcohol prices, also
eased, falling from 2.7% in April to 2.3% in May. “May’s steep decline in services inflation, to its lowest level in
more than three years, confirms that the previous month’s jump was just an Easter-related blip and that the
downward trend in services inflation remains on track,” Jack Allen-Reynolds, deputy chief euro zone economist
at Capital Economics said in a note. Inflation has been moving back towards the 2% mark throughout 2025
amid uncertainty for the euro zone economy. The latest figures will be considered by the European Central
Bank as it prepares to make its next interest rate decision later this week. Back in April, the central bank took
its key rate, the deposit facility rate, to 2.25% — nearly half of the high of 4% notched in the middle of 2023.
Markets were last pricing in an around 95% chance of interest rates being cut by a further 25-basis-points on
Thursday. Given the widely anticipated upcoming interest rate trim, the Tuesday data might not strongly
influence this week’s ECB decision, Allen-Reynolds said. - Australia’s first-quarter economic growth misses estimates, expanding 1.3% from a year earlier
Australia’s economy grew less than expected in the first quarter this year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics
said in a statement Wednesday, as growth stalled amid the simmering global trade tensions. The economy
grew 1.3% year-on-year in the first quarter, lower than the estimated 1.5% growth in a Reuters poll. That was
unchanged from the 1.3% year-on-year growth in the prior quarter. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the
economy expanded 0.2%, undershooting expectations for a 0.4% growth. Katherine Keenan, ABS head of
national accounts, attributed the soft growth to shrinking public spending and weakened consumer demand
and exports. - U.S. growth forecast cut sharply by OECD as Trump tariffs sour global outlook
Economic growth forecasts for the U.S. and globally were cut further by the Organisation for Economic Co
operation and Development as President Donald Trump’s tariff turmoil weighs on expectations. The U.S.
growth outlook was downwardly revised to just 1.6% this year and 1.5% in 2026. In March, the OECD was still
expecting a 2.2% expansion in 2025. The fallout from Trump’s tariff policy, elevated economic policy
uncertainty, a slowdown of net immigration and a smaller federal workforce were cited as reasons for the
latest downgrade. Global growth, meanwhile, is also expected to be lower than previously forecast, with the
OECD saying that “the slowdown is concentrated in the United States, Canada and Mexico,” while other
economies are projected to see smaller downward revisions. - Oracle boosts utility data management with AI and in-memory processing
Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), a prominent player in the software industry with annual revenue of $55.78 billion, has
introduced AI-powered anomaly detection and in-memory processing to its Utilities Customer Platform,
enhancing meter data management (MDM) and utility operations. According to InvestingPro analysis, the
company maintains a robust gross profit margin of 71.12%, though its stock currently trades above its Fair
Value. These improvements are designed to streamline workflows for utility employees and bolster overall
platform performance, which supports metering, operations, billing, customer service, and engagement within
a unified solution. The new AI capabilities aim to significantly reduce billing exceptions by minimizing manual
interventions, truck dispatches, and operational expenses. Oracle has made these enhancements available to
customers at no extra charge. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) has led to a surge in utility data volume,
presenting challenges in data management and accuracy. With customer expectations for service reliability on
the rise, utilities are in need of more sophisticated and rapid technology solutions. Oracle’s Utilities Customer
Platform integrates AI and a unified data framework, enabling utilities to utilize precise meter data for better
decision-making. This advancement is expected to result in quicker resolution times and fewer data exceptions,
potentially leading to enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty. - Micron launches industry’s thinnest LPDDR5X memory chi
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), a $110 billion market cap semiconductor giant currently trading below
its InvestingPro Fair Value, has started shipping qualification samples of what it claims to be the world’s first 1
gamma node-based LPDDR5X memory. This new development is aimed at enhancing the performance of AI
applications on flagship smartphones, offering the fastest LPDDR5X speed grade at 10.7 Gbps and promising
up to a 20% power saving. The memory technology is not only notable for its speed and efficiency but also for
its compact size. At 0.61 millimeters, Micron’s LPDDR5X package is reportedly 6% thinner than its closest
competitors, which could lead to more innovative smartphone designs, including ultrathin and foldable
models. As a prominent player in the Semiconductors industry with projected 41% revenue growth this fiscal
year, Micron continues to demonstrate its innovation leadership. Mark Montierth, corporate vice president
and general manager of Micron’s Mobile and Client Business Unit, described the new LPDDR5X memory as a
“game-changer” for the mobile industry, combining high speeds with significant power efficiency in a
particularly slim package. Micron’s 1-gamma-based LPDDR5X enables faster AI insights on mobile devices, with
tests showing a 30% quicker response in providing location-based restaurant recommendations and more than
50% faster results when translating voice inquiries. These improvements are critical as mobile AI workloads
become more prevalent and energy-intensive. - Shares of Broadcom rose 3.5% after it said it began shipping a new version of its data center switch
chips that can boost the efficiency of AI accelerators
The company started delivering the Tomahawk 6 switch chips to customers over the weekend, and the
product will be broadly available in July, said Ram Velaga, senior vice president and general manager of
Broadcom’s Core Switching Group. Switches, a central piece of networking equipment, allow computers to
communicate with one another. A single new Tomahawk 6 can do the work of six of the previous versions,
Broadcom said. Velaga declined to name the initial customers for the Tomahawk 6, but said they will include
some of the largest cloud providers, as well as networking companies that build Broadcom technology into
their products. Broadcom has customers lined up to use the Tomahawk 6 to connect systems using more than
100,000 GPUs, he said. Generally speaking, you need about 1 switch per 10 GPUs, Velaga said. - Dollar General surged 15.8% after increasing its annual guidance, helped by luring more higher-income
shoppers looking for deals. The discount chain also said it expects to mitigate a significant amount of the
tariffs currently in place
The company sees same-store sales gaining as much as 2.5% this fiscal year, up from guidance in March calling
for an increase as high as 2.2%. The retailer also nudged up expectations for earnings per share. “Our core
customer remains financially constrained,” Chief Executive Officer Todd Vasos said. He added that more
middle- and high-income consumers are trading down — a sign that even wealthy shoppers are looking for
deals amid weakening sentiment. About 25% of the retailer’s customers have less income than last year, a
survey it conducted showed. The company reported $10.4 billion in revenue for the quarter ended May 2,
slightly above the average estimate. Dollar General also beat expectations for same-store sales growth. - On Semiconductor shares rallied 11.4% as executives from the company spoke at a Bank of America
investment conference
Hassane El-Khoury, Chief Executive Officer, said: “From a demand environment, we started to see signs of
recovery. We talked about signs of recovery in the industrial market, which is our second largest market, and
based on the outlook that we see, net of any changes in in the environment, we do expect Q two to be the
bottom even in automotive. We are expecting growth. We’re expecting growth driven by our penetration and
our success that we’ve had in EVs in China. But we’re also going to benefit from a broad based recovery based
on the signs that we see for the half of this year. Of course, net of any changes in the geopolitical outlook, but
net of those disruptions that we don’t know about, we feel good about the second half.” - CrowdStrike shares fell 6.5% afterhours, after the cybersecurity company projected revenue for the
current quarter that trailed estimates
Sales for the second quarter will be as much as $1.15 billion, the company said, missing the average analyst
estimate of $1.16 billion. The stock fell despite the firm beating earnings expectations for the quarter ended
April 30, posting adjusted earnings of 73 cents a share. The company also reported annual recurring revenue
for the quarter that was in line with estimates and new annual recurring revenue that surpassed expectations.
Truist Securities (buy, PT $450): The results show “the company’s ability to deliver significant operating
leverage while maintaining growth”. “Despite the solid Q1 results, the company did not raise FY26 revenue
guidance but raised guidance for profitability”. The stock’s postmarket decline may reflect strength going into
the report. Vital Knowledge: The results show “solid” earnings upside and “robust” annual recurring revenue.
However, “the unchanged sales forecast will be considered a small knee-jerk negative”.
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