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Before the market opened on Friday, the three major U.S. stock index futures continued to rise. As of press time, the Dow Jones futures were up 0.48%, Nasdaq futures rose 0.29%, and S&P futures increased by 0.32%.
$Star Tech Stocks (LIST2518.US)$Most stocks rose in pre-market trading, $Oracle(ORCL.US)$Up nearly 3%, $Tesla(TSLA.US)$ 、 Microsoft (MSFT.US) 、 $Apple(AAPL.US)$ 、 $ASML Holding(ASML.US)$ rose more than 1%.
$Popular Chinese Concept Stocks (LIST2517.US)$ Pre-market trading showed mixed results. $PDD Holdings (PDD.US)$ Up nearly 4%, Kingsoft Cloud (KC.US) Rising more than 2%.
$Rare Earth Concept (LIST23700.US)$ rose pre-market, $Critical Metals(CRML.US)$ gaining nearly 9%, $American Resources (AREC.US)$ Up 5%, USA Rare Earth(USAR.US) Up over 3%, $United States Antimony (UAMY.US)$ 、 $Energy Fuels(UUUU.US)$ Rising more than 2%.
The first oil tanker passed through the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. military imposed a blockade, causing international oil prices to fall sharply. Brent Crude Oil (Cash) Main Futures Contract (2606) (BZmain.US) 、 $WTI Crude Oil Futures Main Contract (2606) (CLmain.US)$ Both fell over 3%, currently trading at $96.28 per barrel and $87.81 per barrel respectively.
Individual Stock News
Tesla is hiring engineers in Taiwan: candidates must have experience in advanced process chip technology.
$Tesla(TSLA.US)$ Tesla is recruiting semiconductor engineers in the Taiwan region to participate in its 'Terafab' artificial intelligence chip project, aiming to advance the construction of its chip fabrication facilities. The engineering roles published by Tesla cover core manufacturing processes such as lithography, etching, and thin-film production, with some positions requiring candidates to possess experience in advanced chip manufacturing at 7 nanometers or below.
Netflix Q1 results exceeded expectations but guidance fell short; the company’s ‘key figure’ chairman will step down.
Netflix (NFLX.US) Shares fell more than 10% in pre-market trading as the company's Q1 revenue growth slowed to 16%, but was stronger than expected; EPS surged 86% year-over-year, significantly surpassing expectations, driven by a one-time income of $2.85 billion from ending the bidding for Warner. Netflix anticipates that Q2 content amortization will see the highest year-over-year growth rate for the full year. The guidance for the full-year operating margin remains unchanged and was not raised, slightly below expectations. The company maintained its advertising revenue target at $3 billion for the year, while raising its free cash flow guidance by over 10% to $12.5 billion for the full year. Hastings, the co-founder who has led Netflix for 29 years, will step down from the board after his term ends in June.
Seven platforms fined nearly 3.6 billion yuan for involvement in 'phantom food delivery' issues.
$PDD Holdings (PDD.US)$ Shares rose nearly 4% pre-market. On April 17, the State Administration for Market Regulation penalized seven e-commerce platforms including PDD Holdings, Meituan, JD.com, Taobao Flash Purchase, Douyin, Taobao, and Tmall for inadequate scrutiny of online food operator qualifications and failure to prevent order transfer behaviors. These platforms were ordered to suspend adding new cake shops for periods ranging from three to nine months and were fined a total of 3.597 billion yuan. Legal representatives and food safety directors of the seven platforms were fined 19.6874 million yuan. Currently, all platforms have removed related 'phantom shops' and halted order transfer collaborations.
iPhone shipments in China surged 20% in Q1, while memory price hikes are raising the bar for domestic smartphone makers.
According to data from market research firm Counterpoint Research, in the first quarter of this year. $Apple(AAPL.US)$ iPhone shipments in China surged 20% year-on-year, leading growth among major brands. During the same period, rising memory chip prices drove up industry-wide costs, compounded by supply chain disruptions, resulting in an overall decline in China's smartphone market shipments, with most domestic brands impacted. Apple ranked second with a 19% market share, trailing only Huawei, which maintained its top position with a 20% market share. Ivan Lam, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, stated that Apple’s value proposition has become increasingly prominent as competitors raised prices. Ivan Lam forecasted that Apple would continue to perform relatively robustly in Q2 and could continue to benefit from a market environment where domestic brands further increase prices.
Alcoa shares fell pre-market after Q1 results missed expectations and total aluminum shipments declined by 8%.
$Alcoa Corporation (AA.US)$ The stock dropped over 3% pre-market. The company's Q1 revenue decreased 5% year-on-year to $3.19 billion, below the analysts' expectation of $3.28 billion; adjusted earnings per share were $1.4, compared to the expected $1.53. Alumina production for the quarter fell 5% sequentially to 2.4 million metric tons, while aluminum production remained flat at 607,000 metric tons. Total aluminum shipments declined by 8%, attributed to reduced external alumina sales used to fulfill customer commitments, seasonal declines in Q1 shipments, and shipping delays in Australia, leading to a 31% drop in third-party alumina shipments.
Software stocks active pre-market as 'The Big Short' turns bullish; Citi predicts software stocks may see a rebound.
$AI Application Software Stock (LIST23492.US)$ Continued active trading pre-market. SAP SE (SAP.US) with an increase of over 4%. SoundHound AI (SOUN.US)Up more than 3%, $Salesforce(CRM.US)$ 、 $ServiceNow(NOW.US)$、 $Adobe(ADBE.US)$ 、 Tempus AI (TEM.US) Rising more than 2%.
Renowned investor Michael Burry, the real-life figure behind the movie 'The Big Short,' is reportedly repositioning into previously battered software stocks, betting that the recent sell-off was driven more by technical factors than deteriorating corporate fundamentals. He believes this downturn has instead created new buying opportunities.
Scott Chronert, head of U.S. equity strategy at Citigroup, noted that as the U.S. equity market enters the crucial earnings reporting season, the tech sector is facing what he calls a 'reverse perfect storm.' He argues that since market pricing for beaten-down sectors like software already reflects excessive negative expectations, any indication of better-than-expected profitability in these companies’ earnings reports will trigger a powerful rebound from their extremely low starting point.
JPMorgan downgrades Corning and Fabrinet but raises price targets.
$Optical Communication(LIST23979.US)$ Broad-based pre-market gains, $Applied Optoelectronics(AAOI.US)$Up more than 3%, $Coherent(COHR.US)$ 、 $POET Technologies(POET.US)$ 、 $Lumentum(LITE.US)$ Shares rose over 2%. JPMorgan downgraded the ratings of two optical communication stocks, Corning and Fabrinet, from 'Overweight' to 'Neutral,' citing overvaluation and limited earnings visibility, respectively. However, while downgrading these stocks, JPMorgan significantly raised their price targets. The firm increased its target price for Corning from $115 to $175, representing approximately 5% upside potential from Thursday's closing price of $166.08; it raised Fabrinet's target price from $530 to $700, indicating about 4% upside potential from Thursday's closing price of $672.64.
TSMC's Advanced Packaging Roadmap Revised: CoWoS “Extended Lifecycle,” Next-Generation CoPoS “Not Until Q4 2030 at the Earliest”
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM.US) Shares rose nearly 1% in pre-market trading. According to a report by DigiTimes on Friday, Taiwan Semiconductor's latest planning shows that the first batch of CoPoS packaging products will not be produced until the fourth quarter of 2030 at the earliest, due to greater-than-expected difficulties in advancing CoPoS. This marks a delay of approximately two years compared to the previous market expectation of mass production starting in 2028. Meanwhile, Taiwan Semiconductor’s CoWoS capacity has been fully booked for the next two years, and the lifecycle of CoWoS is expected to extend significantly longer than anticipated.
Uber Technologies spent $318 million to acquire a 4.5% stake in Delivery Hero, betting on the undervalued potential of Europe's food delivery market.
Uber Technologies (UBER.US) Shares rose over 1% in pre-market trading. On April 17, Uber Technologies announced the acquisition of approximately 4.5% of the shares in Germany’s Delivery Hero SE for €270 million from Dutch investment group Prosus SE. The deal was executed at €20 per share, representing a premium of about 22% over Delivery Hero’s volume-weighted average price in the month leading up to April 16.
SpaceX continues paving the way for its IPO: Employee stock vesting dates may be moved forward to as early as next week.
SpaceX is preparing intensively for its IPO. According to sources, SpaceX is expected to file its IPO application in late May and finalize the offering price during the week of June 15. To facilitate the listing, insiders revealed that SpaceX has moved the scheduled vesting date of employee stocks forward to as early as next week, enabling employees to cash out earlier.
Global Macro
Trump claims Iran has made key concessions.
U.S. President Trump claimed that Iran has made a critical concession in negotiations with the United States, and an agreement aimed at ending this conflict may be announced 'soon.' Trump stated there might be no need to extend a two-week ceasefire agreement set to expire next week. This statement defied earlier expectations, as markets had anticipated both sides would need to prolong the ceasefire to allow more time for diplomatic mediation. 'Iran wants to reach an agreement. Things they refused to do two months ago, they are now willing to compromise on,' Trump said on Thursday. 'We are currently engaged in a very successful negotiation. If everything goes well, it will be made public soon.'
In preparation for next week’s hearing, U.S. Democratic lawmakers strongly criticized Kevin Warsh.
According to a report by the Financial Times, Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, sharply criticized Kevin Warsh on Thursday, accusing him of concealing key financial assets and stating that if confirmed, he would become a 'puppet' of Trump. On the same day, all 11 Democratic members of the committee jointly called for a full postponement of Warsh’s confirmation hearing process.
Fed Governor Michelle Bowman turns hawkish: Inflation is proving more stubborn.
Federal Reserve Governor Milan stated on Thursday that his stance on interest rate cuts has become more cautious as inflation appears to be more persistent. He now believes the justification for adopting an accommodative monetary policy is less compelling than before. He had originally anticipated four interest rate cuts this year, but now he leans toward three. Milan noted that the inflation situation has deteriorated since December of last year, although this cannot be entirely attributed to the Iran war. In fact, he observed this trend several months before the outbreak of the conflict. Milan pointed out that the underlying components of inflation have become more challenging. Regarding the surge in energy prices caused by the US-Iran war, Milan believes it will not have any lasting impact on inflation.
UBS Group: Earnings Season to Support Further Gains
Currently, the US stock market has entered a new earnings season. UBS Group forecasts that $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$ the profits of constituent companies will grow by approximately 17% in the first quarter of this year, which would mark the fastest growth rate since the fourth quarter of 2021. UBS attributes this robust corporate earnings performance to the broad-based momentum of the US economy and strong demand for semiconductors related to artificial intelligence infrastructure spending. Additionally, UBS expects the financial and materials sectors to achieve above-average growth in performance and stated that 'actual results are likely to exceed expectations.'
Stalemate in the Strait of Hormuz Unresolved; Is the US Now Targeting the Strait of Malacca?
According to reports by Global Times citing India's NDTV, Indonesia will grant the US military expanded airspace access, allowing the United States to enhance its control over the Strait of Malacca and even the Indian Ocean. Indian media expressed concerns that after the Strait of Hormuz, the US might shift its focus to the Strait of Malacca, which is closer to India. The Strait of Malacca handles over 40% of global maritime trade and serves as a critical channel for global energy and commodity trading. Meanwhile, the deadlock in the Strait of Hormuz remains unresolved, with prospects for US-Iran negotiations uncertain and supply chains under continued pressure.
Top 20 pre-market trading volume stocks in the U.S.
Reminder of the US stock market macroeconomic calendar
(The following times are in Beijing Time)
23:30 Speech by Daly, President of the San Francisco Fed and 2027 FOMC voting member
In the early hours of the following morning,
00:15 Speech by Barkin, President of the Richmond Fed and 2027 FOMC voting member
02:00 Speech by Federal Reserve Governor Waller
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Editor/KOKO