- Asian Bonds Track US Rally; Stocks See Muted Open: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Bonds tracked Treasuries higher in early Asia trading on signs of a cooling US labour market that buoyed Federal Reserve rate-cut bets. Stocks struggled to gain traction. Australian and Japanese notes rose after US data showed job openings hit the lowest since 2021. - Hedge Funds Flip Flop on Yen Option Trade as BOJ ‘Spooks’ Market
(Bloomberg) — Hedge funds are backpedalling on yen option trades with a sudden spate of bullish bets on the currency, according to market participants. Just last month leveraged funds piled into option bets that the yen would fall back to 160 versus the dollar. - Aluminium Producer Novelis Delays IPO Citing Market Conditions
(Bloomberg) — Aluminium producer Novelis Inc. is postponing a plan to raise as much as $945 million in a US initial public offering, citing adverse market conditions. Novelis, owned by billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla’s Hindalco Industries Ltd., will continue to evaluate the timing of the offering in the future. - Modi Seeks to Shore Up Coalition to Secure Third Term in Power
(Bloomberg) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is gearing up for coalition talks after his party lost its majority in parliament, forcing him to rely on allies to form a government for the first time since he stormed to power a decade ago. Modi’s Bhartiya Janata Party needs to secure the support of two regional, although notoriously unreliable allies. - Meta Withheld Information on Instagram, WhatsApp Deals: FTC
(Bloomberg) — Meta Platforms Inc. withheld information from federal regulators during their original reviews of the Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions, the US Federal Trade Commission said in a court filing as part of a lawsuit seeking to break up the social networking giant. - Biden Bid to End Gaza War Falters as Israel, Hamas Push Back
(Bloomberg) — Hamas has followed Israel in balking at President Joe Biden’s efforts to end their war in Gaza, with both sides saying their conflicting conditions for a permanent cease-fire must be met before they’ll even agree to pause fighting. A Hamas spokesman said Tuesday that Israel must commit to a permanent cease-fire and full withdrawal from Gaza. - US Job Openings Fall to Lowest Since 2021 in Broad Cooldown
(Bloomberg) — US job openings fell in April to the lowest level in over three years, consistent with a gradual slowdown in the labour market. Available positions decreased to 8.06 million from a downwardly revised 8.36 million reading in the prior month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, known as JOLTS, showed Tuesday. - Bond Traders Pile Into Fresh Bets on Faster Pace of Fed Cuts
(Bloomberg) — Bond traders are tilting dovish again, piling into wagers that would benefit from a faster pace of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts as Treasuries rally. US 10-year yields have declined by more than a quarter point in recent trading sessions, tumbling after the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge held steady and measures of manufacturing. - Sunak, Starmer Clash on Taxes in First UK Election Debate
(Bloomberg) — Rishi Sunak and opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer clashed over taxes in the first TV debate of the UK election campaign, with the British premier under pressure and trailing far behind in the polls. Sunak accused Starmer of planning to raise taxes, repeatedly saying a Labour government would cost households an average £2,000. - Japan’s Base Pay Rises Most Since 1994 as Wage Deals Kick In
(Bloomberg) — Japanese workers’ base pay jumped by the largest margin since 1994 in a sign that corporate pledges to offer the biggest wage increases in three decades are starting to take effect. Base pay rose 2.3% from a year ago in April to drive up nominal wages by 2.1%, the labour ministry reported Wednesday. - Trump Lender Axos Sinks After Hindenburg Shorts Bank’s Stock
(Bloomberg) — Axos Financial Inc., which has lent to properties including former President Donald Trump’s flagship New York tower, plunged after Hindenburg Research said it was short the stock because of the bank’s exposure to problematic commercial real estate loans. - BlackRock, Citadel Plan New Texas Stock Exchange, WSJ Reports
(Bloomberg) — A group backed by investors including BlackRock Inc. and Citadel Securities is planning an upstart stock market in Texas in a challenge to the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Inc., the Wall Street Journal reported. The Texas Stock Exchange plans to file registration documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission later this year. - Nasdaq Unit Explores Offering Private IPOs for Startup Stakes
(Bloomberg) — Nasdaq Inc.’s private market subsidiary is seeking to be the first in the US to offer companies the option of holding so-called private IPOs, giving venture capital and buyout firms more options to realize the value in their portfolios. - Analytics Startup AppsFlyer Is Said to Tap Banks for IPO
(Bloomberg) — AppsFlyer, a marketing analytics provider, is weighing plans for an initial public offering, people with knowledge of the matter said. The San Francisco-based startup is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. as it plans a possible IPO, according to the people. - Bath & Body Works Inc. shares plunged 12.82% after it reported its first quarter earnings and second quarter guidance.
For the first quarter, adjusted earnings per share came in at 38 cents, beating estimates of 33 cents. Net sales were at $1.38 billion, -0.9% YoY, beating estimates of $1.37 billion. In the second quarter, the company forecasted an earnings per share of 31 cents to 36 cents, while estimates were at 39 cents. It also expects net sales to be flat or down 2%. - Great Wall Motor shares dropped 10.96%, after it announced plans to shutter its European headquarters in Munich in August and lay off about 100 workers.
The Chinese carmaker is adjusting its European strategy as the electric vehicle market poses more challenges to the company. Along with other Chinese manufacturers, Great Wall Motor is also facing threats of higher import tariffs in the EU. The tariffs would reduce the competitiveness of Chinese-made vehicles, adding to the already-cooling demands for EVs in countries such as Germany and France. - Maersk shares fell 0.6%. The shipping giant initially surged higher after boosting its guidance before giving up gains throughout the session to eventually reverse course, with some analysts suggesting the stock’s recent rally had already captured the improved outlook.
YEAR FORECAST: Sees underlying Ebitda $7 billion to $9 billion, saw $4 billion to $6 billion, estimate $5.86 billion. Sees underlying Ebit $1 billion to $3 billion, saw loss $2 billion to $0, estimate loss $451.8 million. Morgan Stanley (equal-weight): Earnings upside not surprising, with Red Sea disruption and increase in European demand boosting freight rates, analyst Cedar Ekblom writes. With the stock climbing 26% over the past month, it seems likely the market already anticipated the upgrade. Structural oversupply in container shipping remains, with Red Sea disruptions “only temporary respite”. - The S&P 500 Materials Index fell 1.2% with Freeport-McMoRan (-4.5%) leading declines.
Copper fell below $10,000 a metric ton as traders weighed a sharp rise in global inventories and soft US job openings data that reinforced bets that the Federal Reserve will be able to cut interest rates this year. Stockpiles on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have climbed to the highest since 2020, and there have also been a steady stream of smaller inflows into Asian depots tracked by the London Metal Exchange over the past few weeks. Inventories typically decline at this time of year, and the jump has put pressure on prices after copper spiked to a record high above $11,100 last month. The ongoing rise in exchange inventories offers evidence that buyers are amply supplied for now and serve as a headwind for bulls predicting that prices will soon make another push higher. - Carnival shares climbed 5.8% as Peel Hunt upgraded its recommendation to buy, noting that the cruise ship operator will appeal to more investors as it accelerates its debt-for-equity swap.
PT lifted to 1,300p (from 1,100p); rating raised to buy from add. Carnival has pushed its debt maturities out to a “manageable” maturity profile and is pre-paying or replacing its expensive debt, with analysts Ivor Jones and Douglas Jack expecting the group to be investment grade by FY26.Low medium-term capacity growth should mean improved yield, while summer 2025 is already well-booked, analysts note. - CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. delivered first-quarter earnings that beat expectations, despite a pullback in spending that has challenged its cybersecurity rivals.
Shares climbed 6.7% in afterhours trading. Revenue totalled $921 million in the first quarter, surpassing the average analyst estimate. The company posted adjusted earnings of 93 cents per share, above a 90-cent projection. Last month, rival Palo Alto Networks Inc. slid after giving a downbeat forecast for the current period, renewing concerns about a slowdown in cybersecurity demand. The cyber solutions provider Fortinet Inc. also posted a miss in first-quarter billings, citing weakness in Europe. CrowdStrike, however, has said its single-platform strategy has allowed the company to continue to gain market share. - Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares rose 15.3% in afterhours trading, after the computer hardware and storage company reported second-quarter results that beat expectations and raised its full-year forecast for both adjusted earnings and revenue growth. AI was a major driver of the results.
Sales of servers built to handle artificial intelligence work more than doubled sequentially. “HPE’s AI advantage, increased HPE Green Lake adoption, and leading infrastructure portfolio, as well as an improved supply chain environment, set us up very well to deliver a strong second half,” said CEO Antonio Neri. “Our deep expertise in designing, manufacturing, and running AI systems at scale fuelled growth of cumulative AI systems orders to $4.6 billion, with enterprise AI orders representing more than 15%,” Neri said. HPE’s current backlog for AI systems is now $3.1 billion, CFO Marie Myers said. Dell said last week its AI server backlog was $3.8 billion. - India’s stock markets erase $371 billion after ruling BJP falls short of election expectations
India’s markets saw their largest one-day loss in four years after the electoral performance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bhartiya Janata Party fell short of expectations. The All-India Market Capitalization index, tracked on the Bombay Stock index, dropped over $371 billion on June 4 alone. The losses on Tuesday meant the Sensex index erased all its gains this year in a single day, going from a 5.85% year-to-date gain on Monday to a 0.22% loss position. - Amazon’s first U.S. labor union moves to affiliate with Teamsters
An upstart Amazon union has moved to affiliate with the Teamsters, one of the largest labor unions in the country. The Amazon Labor Union has faced setbacks since its landmark 2022 victory in Staten Island, including infighting among leader Chris Smalls and some members. The affiliation agreement still needs to be ratified by ALU and Teamsters members, Smalls said. - How Roaring Kitty’s wealth went from $53,000 to nearly $300 million — and could one day top $1 billion
Almost five years ago, GameStop champion Keith Gill revealed a $53,000 bet in his favorite video game retailer. This week, Gill’s net worth is over $289 million. The meme stock leader, who can move the stock by simply posting cryptic messages online, shared a screenshot of his portfolio Monday night, showing he held onto his 5 million shares of GameStop and 120,000 call options even after a 21% rally. He made a whopping $79 million on paper on Monday — a single trading day. - Warner Bros. Discovery hikes prices for Max streaming service
Max will raise the prices of its ad-free options by $1 a month, and $10 to $20 a year for its annual offerings. The move comes only days before the debut of season two of its record-breaking show, “House of the Dragon. Warner Bros. Discovery recently announced it is planning to offer Max in a bundle with Disney’s Hulu and Disney+ at a discounted price. - Elon Musk ordered Nvidia to ship thousands of AI chips reserved for Tesla to X and xAI
Emails circulated inside Nvidia and obtained by CNBC show that Elon Musk told the chipmaker to prioritize shipments of processors to X and xAI ahead of Tesla. Musk has said he can grow Tesla into a major player in artificial intelligence and that the company is spending heavily on Nvidia’s AI processors. By ordering Nvidia to let X jump the line ahead of Tesla, Musk delayed the automaker’s receipt of over $500 million in processors by months.
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