To The Moon

S&P 500 Rises After Soft Inflation Report; Hong Kong Stocks Fall Due to Profit-Taking

🇺🇸 S&P 500 Index: +0.41%

🇺🇸 Nasdaq Index: -0.18%

🇪🇺 STOXX 600 Index: +0.65%

🇯🇵 Nikkei 225 Index: -0.98%

🇭🇰 Hang Seng Index: -0.79%

🇨🇳 CSI 300 Index: -0.89%

🇸🇬 Straits Times Index: +0.54%

Wall Street closed mixed, with the S&P 500 up 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.2%, driven by falling producer inflation data and lower oil prices, which caused U.S. Treasury yields to decline and supported equity markets.

U.S. retail sales in April grew just 0.1% month-over-month, down from 1.7% in March, as the boost from pre-tariff purchases faded and households cut back on spending amid an uncertain economic outlook.

For the week ending May 10, U.S. weekly initial jobless claims held steady at 229,000. Layoffs remain low, but job openings are becoming increasingly scarce as tariff-related uncertainty deters companies from expanding hiring.

Asia-Pacific markets were weak, with the Hang Seng and CSI 300 indices down 0.8% and 0.9%, respectively, as profit-taking followed an 18% rebound in the Hang Seng Index since April.

Upcoming Events:

Friday: University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment (Prelim), Japan Q1 GDP (QoQ), Malaysia Q1 GDP (QoQ)

Things to Know Today:

1. Weak U.S. retail sales and an unexpected 0.5% drop in April's Producer Price Index boosted expectations of two Fed rate cuts in 2025, sending U.S. Treasury prices surging. Yields on 2-year and 10-year notes fell by 10 basis points, while the dollar weakened amid growing fiscal concerns.

2. Etihad Airways pledged to spend $14.5 billion on 28 Boeing 787 and 777X aircraft powered by GE engines, part of a broader $200 billion U.S.-UAE deal announced by Trump. $Boeing(BA)$  $GE Aerospace(GE)$  

Ethihad Airways

3. Walmart's $Wal-Mart(WMT)$   U.S. same-store sales rose 4.5% in Q1, and the company turned a profit in e-commerce for the first time, beating expectations. However, it warned that prices would rise by the end of May due to tariffs.

Walmart

4. Applied Materials $Applied Materials(AMAT)$  expects Q3 revenue to drop to about $7.2 billion due to tighter U.S. export restrictions. China's contribution to sales fell from 43% a year ago to 25%.

Applied Materials

5. Alibaba's $Alibaba(09988)$  Q1 revenue grew 7%, missing expectations as weak consumer demand and intensified competition in AI, e-commerce, and cloud computing weighed on growth.

Alibaba

Key Takeaway:

With recession fears easing and markets showing resilience, investor sentiment has turned cautiously optimistic. However, persistent macro and micro risks form a "wall of worry." The summer outlook depends on whether the rally can broaden or stalls into consolidation or a pullback.

@Daily_Discussion  @Tiger_comments  @TigerStars