Stock Market Update

Equity futures point to a higher opening this morning as semiconductor stocks look to rebound from yesterday's slide, trading higher in the premarket. The major averages are coming off a mostly lower finish, though stocks finished well off their session lows as rotational gains across other parts of the market broadened into a dip-buying effort late in the session.

NVIDIA (NVDA 225.65, +4.87, +2.2%) also escaped with a gain and trades higher in the premarket after Bloomberg reported that CEO Jensen Huang will join President Trump on his trip to China. Financial Times reports that President Trump will discuss U.S. arms sales to Taiwan in a meeting with Chinese President Xi during the summit.

Meanwhile, developments around the U.S-Iran conflict echo much of the same sentiments from previous days, with President Trump threatening renewed military action and doubling down on his stance that Iran can not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.

The market has another key inflation gauge on the calendar this morning in the form of the April PPI (Briefing.com consensus 0.4%) and Core PPI (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%) readings. Yesterday's CPI report showed headline and core inflation in line with month-over-month expectations, though the year-over-year levels remain well above the Fed's 2.0% target, which contributed to some weakness across Treasuries.

Elsewhere on the economic data front, the MBA Mortgage Applications Index for the week ended May 9 increased 1.7%, from a prior decrease of 4.4%.

In corporate news:

• Anthropic is in talks to raise at least $30 billion in its latest financing round, valuing the company at more than $900 billion, according to Bloomberg.
• Alibaba (BABA 133.60, -1.07, -0.8%) reported Q4 (March) results and missed on revenue estimates.
• Nike (NKE 42.38, +0.02, +0.1%) is losing market share in China, according to The Wall Street Journal.
• NVIDIA (NVDA 225.65, +4.87, +2.2%) CEO Jensen Huang Will join President Trump on his trip to China, according to Bloomberg.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended the midweek session on a mostly higher note with Japan's Nikkei (+0.8%) settling at a fresh record while South Korea's Kospi (+2.6%) recovered the bulk of its loss from yesterday. Japan's Nikkei: +0.8%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: +0.2%, China's Shanghai Composite: +0.7%, India's Sensex: +0.1%, South Korea's Kospi: +2.6%, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: -0.3%.

In news:

• President Trump is on his way to China with a team of corporate executives, and he will meet with China's leader on Thursday morning local time.
• South Korea's cabinet is holding an emergency meeting as Samsung Electronics workers threaten an 18-day strike, starting next Thursday if their compensation demands are not met.
• Australia is cutting taxes for all taxpayers and implementing long-term reforms in its budget for 2026.
• South Korea's KDI raised its domestic 2026 growth forecast to 2.5% from 1.9% while the inflation outlook was increased to 2.7% from 2.1%.

In economic data:

• Japan's March adjusted Current Account surplus JPY3.90 trln (expected JPY2.95 trln; last JPY2.70 trln). April Bank Lending 5.4% yr/yr (expected 4.6%; last 4.8%) and April Economy Watchers Current Index 40.8 (expected 41.5; last 42.2)
• South Korea's April Unemployment Rate 2.8% (last 2.7%)
• Australia's Q1 Wage Price Index 0.8% qtr/qtr, as expected (last 0.8%); 3.3% yr/yr, as expected (last 3.4%). Q1 Home Loans -4.3% qtr/qtr (last 9.4%)
• New Zealand's Q2 Inflation Expectations 2.5% qtr/qtr (last 2.4%)

Major European indices trade on a mostly higher note. STOXX Europe 600: +0.3%, Germany's DAX: +0.6%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: UNCH, France's CAC 40: -0.4%, Italy's FTSE MIB: +0.3%, Spain's IBEX 35: -0.2%.

In news:

• Reports from the U.K. indicate that worker unions are now joining the call for the resignation of Prime Minister Starmer after his party was dealt a humiliating defeat in local elections.
• Merck reported solid Q1 results and raised its outlook while shipper Hapag-Lloyd reported a loss for Q1.
• European Central Bank policymaker Rehn said that inflation expectations are still anchored while policymaker Villeroy de Galhau said that the ECB must be ready to respond to knock-on effects.

In economic data:

• Eurozone's flash Q1 GDP 0.1% qtr/qtr, as expected (last 0.2%); 0.8% yr/yr, as expected (last 1.2%). Q1 Employment Change 0.1% qtr/qtr (expected 0.0%; last 0.2%); 0.5% yr/yr (last 0.7%). March Industrial Production -2.1% yr/yr (expected -1.7%; last -0.8%)
• Germany's April WPI 2.0% m/m (expected 1.7%; last 2.7%); 6.3% yr/yr (last 4.1%)
• France's Q1 Unemployment Rate 8.1% (expected 7.8%; last 7.9%). April CPI 1.0% m/m, as expected (last 1.0%); 2.2% yr/yr, as expected (last 1.7%