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Trump announces a ten-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel; the US and Iran seek a temporary memorandum to avoid conflict.
US President Trump announced on April 16 local time that Lebanon and Israel had reached a ten-day ceasefire agreement, with Israel agreeing to the ceasefire but stating it would not withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon. However, barely had the ink dried on the ceasefire agreement when the Israeli military declared it was striking "Hezbollah rocket launchers targeting northern Israel," indicating the situation remains volatile. Meanwhile, the US and Iran achieved a "breakthrough" in nuclear issue negotiations, now seeking to sign a temporary memorandum to prevent further escalation of conflict. Trump even claimed that Iran had agreed to hand over nuclear-related facilities.
Trump declares: Iran agrees to give up nuclear weapons; US-Iran talks may resume this weekend.
According to Reuters, a ten-day ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon took effect on Thursday. At the same time, US President Trump stated that the next meeting between the US and Iran might take place this weekend, further fueling optimism that the war with Iran is nearing an end. According to CCTV News, on April 16 local time, Trump said that the US had obtained a "highly significant" statement ensuring that Iran would not possess nuclear weapons, with the commitment valid for more than 20 years.
However, Trump did not disclose the detailed content of the so-called "statement." Trump also stated that Iran had agreed not to possess nuclear weapons and that the prospects for reaching an agreement "look very optimistic." He claimed, "Iran has agreed to almost all demands." Currently, Iran has not responded. Bloomberg reported that Trump, without evidence, claimed that Iran had agreed to terms it had long resisted, including abandoning its nuclear ambitions and handing over nuclear materials. Trump added that the deal also includes "free oil" and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has not yet publicly confirmed making these concessions.
As tensions in the Middle East ease, Wall Street ignites: Traders scramble to buy tech stocks.
The US stock market is undergoing a dramatic shift. With hopes for peace in the Middle East suppressing geopolitical anxieties, US stocks hit record highs on Wednesday, while derivatives traders who had previously withdrawn bullish bets are now rushing to position themselves early to benefit from further gains in tech stocks. At least one indicator shows that traders are "hungry" for contracts betting on short-term rallies. Compared to current market levels, the implied volatility of 25-delta call options in the largest exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking the Nasdaq 100 Index has reached its highest level since mid-January. Nevertheless, the overall market positioning remains light, meaning investors still have room to increase risk exposure. For example, hedge funds have been reducing their holdings in US tech stocks at the fastest pace in over five years.
Nomura warns: Do not bet against the US stock market rally unless two critical warning signs emerge.
On April 16, 2026, Nomura strategist Charlie McElligott pointed out that the rally driven by fear of missing out will continue, and investors should not bet against the market. The S&P 500 has set a new record high as investors were previously over-hedged, prompting institutional short-covering, which triggered a buying frenzy in tech stocks. Current positions are still not overbought. He highlighted two risks that could derail the rally: first, an energy shortage shock may emerge in May, pushing up commodity prices; second, bond sell-offs and rising yields may trigger central bank tightening and growth concerns, potentially dragging down the economy into recession. Strategically, he advises against shorting US stocks before bonds break key levels or sentiment reaches extreme greed.
On the eve of the nomination hearing for Federal Reserve Chair Wash, Democratic members of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee collectively called for a postponement.
Kevin Warsh, Trump's nominee for Federal Reserve Chair, is expected to attend a hearing next Tuesday, but all 11 Democratic members of the Senate Banking Committee launched a final round of pressure beforehand. In a letter sent to the committee chairman on Thursday, they stated that Warsh’s nomination process should not proceed until investigations into two current Fed officials — Fed Chair Powell and Governor Cook — are concluded. As a result, the likelihood of Warsh being confirmed by the Senate before Powell’s term expires on May 15 has decreased.
Money market fund assets experience record single-day net outflows.
According to data from the Investment Company Institute (ICI), the asset size of money market funds dropped to $7.64 trillion, with a net outflow of $175.81 billion in a single day, marking the largest daily decline on record by ICI. This unusual capital flow may reflect institutional investors reallocating funds into riskier assets amid record-high markets or could be linked to redemption pressures faced by certain private credit funds. On the same day, Apollo CEO Marc Rowan publicly criticized private credit fund managers unable to meet a 5% redemption threshold.
OpenAI Strikes on Two Fronts: Launches Drug Discovery Model and Releases Codex Autonomous Programming Tool
On April 16, OpenAI simultaneously released two significant product updates: one being an AI model dedicated to drug discovery, directly challenging DeepMind, a subsidiary of Google, for its leading position in the biotech field; the other is the release of the Codex autonomous programming tool, capable of performing continuous coding tasks on computers, marking a substantial leap in the capabilities of AI Agents. Amidst the increasingly fierce competition in the AI sector, this dual-pronged approach by OpenAI further intensifies the arms race among large model providers.
Anthropic Releases Claude Opus 4.7 AI Model Update
Anthropic has rolled out an updated version of its most powerful widely available AI model, Opus 4.7, which demonstrates significantly improved performance in software engineering and complex programming tasks. This release comes just about a week after the company restricted access to its more advanced model, Mythos, due to concerns over its strong cybersecurity capabilities. Positioned as a safer alternative to Mythos while maintaining high performance, Opus 4.7 reflects the accelerating pace of AI model iterations and impacts Anthropic's valuation and competitive landscape against rivals like OpenAI and Google.
U.S. stock market recap
Nasdaq Achieves 12-Day Winning Streak, Lithium Mining, CPU, and Optical Communication Stocks Lead Rally
Last night and early this morning, following a temporary ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite both reached new all-time highs.
At the close of trading, the S&P 500 Index rose 0.26% to 7,041.28 points; the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.36% to 24,102.7 points; and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.24% to 48,578.72 points.
According to Dow Jones Market Data, the Nasdaq's streak of 12 consecutive gains since March 31 has tied the record set on July 23, 2009. Similar '12-day winning streaks' also occurred in 1980, 1986, and 1988.
$Star Tech Stocks (LIST2518.US)$ By the close of trading, NVIDIA fell 0.26%, Alphabet-A declined 0.33%, Apple dropped 1.14%, Microsoft rose 2.2%, Amazon gained 0.48%, Broadcom increased 0.44%, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing fell 3.13% despite issuing strong earnings, Meta Platforms rose 0.79%, and Tesla slipped 0.78%.
$Lithium Battery (LIST2552.US)$ The sector surged strongly, with Albemarle skyrocketing by 16.31%, Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile rising 8.78%, $Sigma Lithium(SGML.US)$ surging 13.61%.
$Optical Communication(LIST23979.US)$ Concept stocks took turns spiking, $Applied Optoelectronics(AAOI.US)$ closing up 10.36%, Lumentum rising 8.16%, and Coherent climbing 6.42% to hit a new all-time high.
Individual stock information
Nearly one-fifth of Cybertruck sales came from Musk-affiliated companies.
According to registration data provided by S&P Global Mobility, out of the 7,071 Cybertrucks registered in the fourth quarter of last year, $Tesla(TSLA.US)$ SpaceX purchased 1,279 units, accounting for over 18%. During the same period, other companies under Musk also bought an additional 60 units. This means that nearly one out of every five Cybertrucks registered in the quarter were part of 'internal transactions' within Musk's business empire. The procurement amount likely exceeded $100 million, and this trend has continued into this year.
Netflix Q1 results beat expectations but Q2 guidance disappointed; founder Hastings to step down as chairman, shares plunge 9% after hours.
Netflix (NFLX.US) Netflix reported its first-quarter performance for fiscal year 2026, with both revenue and subscriber growth surpassing market expectations, continuing its growth momentum. However, the company's earnings per share guidance for the second quarter was $0.78, below Wall Street's expectation of $0.84, disappointing investors. More notably, co-founder and chairman Reed Hastings announced he would step down from the board in June, concluding a 29-year tenure, marking the end of an era for Netflix. Affected by both weaker-than-expected guidance and leadership changes, Netflix shares plummeted after-hours. The market is concerned that under increasing content investment, the company’s profit margins may face short-term pressure.
AMD surged nearly 8% to a new all-time high, with the entire semiconductor sector exploding in gains.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.US) Shares surged 7.80% on Thursday, hitting a record high and becoming one of the most prominent large-cap tech stocks in the US market that day. Market news indicates that Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has continued to secure major cloud vendor orders in the AI accelerator and data center GPU sectors, compounded by sustained enthusiasm in overall AI infrastructure investment, driving an influx of capital. $Intel (INTC.US)$ Benefiting from the accelerated public rollout of its Terafab project, shares rose over 5% after the release of the Core 300 processor, marking the highest closing price since the 'dot-com bubble' era.
Intel hires Samsung manufacturing executive to boost foundry business
$Intel (INTC.US)$ Intel announced the hiring of Shawn Han, a senior executive from Samsung's chip manufacturing division, to strengthen its foundry business customer outreach capabilities. Intel is aggressively pursuing entry into the outsourced chip manufacturing market, competing with Taiwan Semiconductor and Samsung. Han’s appointment is seen as a key personnel move in Intel’s foundry transformation strategy, aiding the company in attracting external clients for contract production. This news provides short-term positive sentiment for Intel’s foundry prospects and reflects the evolving competitive landscape in the semiconductor foundry market, with Intel seeking to expedite this strategic shift through talent acquisition.
Memory price hikes trigger chain reaction; Meta forced to raise prices of VR headset products
$Meta Platforms(META.US)$ Meta announced that it will increase the starting price of its entry-level Quest 3S headset by $50 and the higher-end Quest 3 model by $100. After the adjustment, the 128GB version of the Quest 3S will be priced at $350, while the 256GB version will cost $450; the latest price of the Quest 3 is $600. Like other tech companies, Meta faces rising memory costs and supply chain shortages due to the AI boom. Apple and Microsoft have both raised prices for some laptops, and Samsung has also increased prices for certain smartphone models. Meanwhile, other headset manufacturers have either raised prices or delayed product launches.
HVAC stock rises 17% on debut
Madison Air Solutions Corporation $Madison Air Solutions Corp(MAIR.US)$ went public on the US stock market Thursday, closing up 17.59%. Its offerings include liquid cooling, hybrid cooling, and air cooling solutions for data centers. The company raised $2.23 billion through its IPO, making it the largest industrial company IPO on the US stock market since United Parcel Service went public in 1999, raising $5.5 billion at the time.
Semiconductor testing equipment supplier $Aehr Test Systems (AEHR.US)$ Surged 10.42% to a record high after announcing an additional mass production order worth a record $41 million from a leading hyperscale cloud computing customer.
Avis soared 300% in four weeks, intensifying the battle between bulls and bears as the short interest ratio climbed to 58% of the float.
$Avis (CAR.US)$ After experiencing an epic 300% surge over four weeks,Short squeezethe confrontation between long and short positions has escalated further. The latest data shows that the proportion of short interest in the stock’s free float has risen to 58%, an unusually high level in recent years. Elevated short positions indicate that continued upward movement in share price could trigger another round of short squeezes; however, it also reflects strong skepticism from short sellers regarding the current valuation, with volatility expected to remain high. Matt Maley, Chief Market Strategist at Miller Tabak + Co., noted that the recent price rally was primarily driven by short sellers rushing to cover their positions to limit losses. Ihor Dusaniwsky of S3 Partners pointed out: “Short sellers are aggressively betting against Avis shares, anticipating a pullback after nearly a month of gains.” Prior to the start of the rally on March 30, short interest accounted for 54% of the free float.
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Hong Kong Market Outlook
Southbound capital added nearly HK$4.3 billion in Hong Kong stocks, buying Alibaba with a net inflow of nearly HK$900 million while selling Xiaomi with a net outflow of nearly HK$1.2 billion.
On Thursday, April 16, southbound funds recorded a net purchase of HK$4.291 billion worth of Hong Kong equities.
$Tracker Fund (02800.HK)$、$Alibaba-W (09988.HK)$、CNOOC Limited (00883.HK)Net inflows were recorded at HK$2.683 billion, HK$859 million, and HK$341 million respectively;
$Xiaomi Group-W(01810.HK)$、Tencent (00700.HK)、SMIC (00981.HK)while net outflows were seen at HK$1.151 billion, HK$521 million, and HK$57.68 million respectively.
Ganfeng Lithium has announced positive earnings, with an expected net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 1.6 billion to RMB 2.1 billion for the first quarter, reversing a loss from the previous year.
$Ganfeng Lithium (01772.HK)$ The company announced that it expects its net profit attributable to shareholders for the first quarter of 2026 to be RMB 1.6 billion to RMB 2.1 billion, reversing a loss from the previous year. The net profit excluding non-recurring gains and losses is expected to be RMB 1.25 billion to RMB 1.75 billion, also reversing a loss from the previous year. The announcement stated that the substantial year-on-year increase in performance is mainly due to: (1) the rapid development of the global new energy industry, with strong growth in downstream customer demand for lithium salts. The sales price of the company's lithium salt products has increased significantly compared to the same period in 2025. Additionally, as the production capacity of the company's lithium resource projects is released, its cost structure continues to improve.
WeRide and GAC's first co-developed vehicle debuts, accelerating the commercialization of autonomous driving.
$WeRide-W (00800.HK)$ and $GAC Group (02238.HK)$ The first mass-produced model equipped with the WRD 3.0 autonomous driving system—Aion N60—has officially debuted. This marks an important breakthrough for WeRide in the pre-installation mass production of L4 autonomous driving, taking a critical step in expanding its business model from Robotaxi operations to empowering automakers. As autonomous driving policies gradually relax and technology costs continue to decline, companies in related industrial chains are expected to see a new round of valuation recovery.
Shenghong Technology sets the offering price at HKD 209.88 per H-share.
$Shenghong Technology(02476.HK)$ The company announced on April 16, 2026, that the offering price had been set at HKD 209.88 per H-share. The over-allotment option was exercised in full, under which the company will issue and allocate an additional 12,502,000 shares at the offering price, representing approximately 15% of the total number of shares initially available under the global offering. Assuming the global offering becomes unconditional by 8:00 AM on April 21, 2026, or earlier, trading of the H-shares on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange is expected to commence at 9:00 AM on April 21, 2026. The H-shares will be traded in board lots of 100 shares each.
SenseTime sells 1.7 billion shares at an 8.61% discount, raising approximately HKD 3.2 billion.
SenseTime-W (00020.HK) In an announcement after the Hong Kong stock market closed on April 16, 2026, SenseTime proposed to place 1.7 billion shares at HKD 1.91 per share, representing an 8.61% discount to the closing price of HKD 2.09 on the same day, expecting to raise approximately HKD 3.23 billion. The placement was conducted on a best-efforts basis, targeting no fewer than six placees. The specific use of proceeds has not been detailed, but the market generally expects it to be allocated toward AI research and development and computing infrastructure investments.
Today's Focus
Keywords: China's total electricity consumption in March
In terms of new stock offerings, $Changguang Chenguang(03277.HK)$ 、 $Qunhe Technology(00068.HK)$ listed.
In terms of performance, $Ericsson (ERIC.US)$ will announce earnings before the US stock market opens, China Tower Corporation Limited (00788.HK) will publish its financial results.
Futubull AI Morning Reading:
The stock market cannot rise indefinitely; timely loss-cutting is the key to successful investment.
——Buffett
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