Top News
Before the market opened on Friday, a new development emerged in US-Iran negotiations, driving collective gains in the three major futures indices. As of this writing, Dow Jones futures rose by 0.01%, Nasdaq futures surged by 1.4%, and S&P futures increased by 0.47%.
$Star Tech Companies (LIST2518.US)$Pre-market trading saw broad-based gains, with ASML Holding up more than 4%, Oracle rising over 2%, and Microsoft and Broadcom both gaining over 1%.
$China Concept Stocks (LIST2517.US)$ Most stocks advanced in pre-market trading, with Pony AI climbing over 3%, XPeng Group rising more than 2%, and Alibaba and Baidu each gaining over 1%.
Led by Intel, some $Semiconductors (LIST2015.US)$ stocks soared pre-market, with AMD jumping over 11% and Arm Holdings climbing more than 8%.
Individual Stock News
Intel surged over 30% pre-market, setting the stage for a record high, as Q1 results and Q2 guidance significantly exceeded expectations.
$Intel (INTC.US)$ Shares spiked as much as 30% pre-market and are currently up nearly 29%. If this momentum holds after the opening bell, the stock is poised to reach an all-time high. As of Thursday’s close, Intel's shares had already risen approximately 81% year-to-date. The company reported first-quarter revenue of $13.6 billion, a 7% year-over-year increase and above the analyst consensus of $12.4 billion. During the period, revenue from the Data Center and Artificial Intelligence Group (DCAI) reached $5.1 billion, marking a 22% year-over-year increase and surpassing Wall Street estimates, reflecting strong demand for data center chips driven by the rapid expansion of AI. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan noted that customer order demand continues to grow while supply remains constrained. The company is focusing its efforts on expanding production capacity at its facilities. Looking ahead to the second quarter, Intel expects revenue to range between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion, with the midpoint exceeding the average analyst forecast of $13 billion.
Musk confirms: Cybercab has entered production, with a gradual ramp-up in the production line starting slow and accelerating later.
On April 24, $Tesla (TSLA.US)$ Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on the X platform that production of the Cybercab has officially begun. He previously confirmed during the Q1 2026 earnings call that the model was already in production at the Texas Gigafactory. Musk also cautioned that initial production will be “extremely slow” due to new supply chain constraints, with exponential growth expected by the end of the year. Notably, Tesla successfully bypassed the NHTSA’s annual exemption cap of 2,500 vehicles through a self-certification pathway, clearing a key hurdle for expanded production. However, unsupervised autonomous driving is not yet ready, and technological bottlenecks remain the biggest variable for commercial deployment.
Riding the AI wave to the nuclear power风口! Oklo's stock price hits a two-month high, with HSBC setting a target of $96.
Nuclear energy startup $Oklo Inc (OKLO.US)$ Shares extended their gains by 5% in pre-market trading following a 5.59% rise on Thursday, which pushed the stock to its highest level in over two months. After recently partnering with Meta Platforms, Oklo Inc has now teamed up with artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant NVIDIA. On Thursday, the company announced an agreement with NVIDIA and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to advance LANL’s critical nuclear infrastructure, AI-driven research, and nuclear fuel development initiatives.
At the same time, HSBC initiated coverage on Oklo Inc with a “Buy” rating and set a price target of $96. Analyst Samantha Hoh stated that Oklo stands to benefit from the new permitting process led by the U.S. Department of Energy, which applies to its 75-megawatt Aurora power plant and fuel manufacturing facility. This is expected to accelerate the construction and permitting timeline for new reactors while leveraging the company’s expertise in complementary areas such as nuclear fuel recycling and radioisotope production.
SAP rises in pre-market trading as Q1 core metrics exceed expectations, maintaining strong full-year guidance.
Europe's largest software company $SAP SE (SAP.US)$ The stock rose more than 6% in pre-market trading. On April 23, SAP released its Q1 2026 earnings report after the US stock market closed. The results exceeded expectations across all key metrics, particularly driven by strong cloud business performance underpinned by Business AI. Cloud revenue grew 27% this quarter, with core cloud ERP suite revenue increasing 30% to 5.214 billion euros. This robust performance is mainly attributed to the deep integration of Business AI. SAP CEO Christian Klein stated that AI has become a critical differentiator, delivering tangible outcomes for customers and helping the company gain market share. Despite macroeconomic uncertainties, SAP maintained an optimistic outlook for the full year 2026.
Google Cloud Next Conference Focus: AI Agents Enter Scale Phase, Inference Chips Become Independent Growth Curve
$Alphabet-A (GOOGL.US)$ Cloud Next 2026 delivered a key message: the enterprise AI battleground has shifted from 'how to experiment' to 'how to govern and scale deployment.' Seventy-five percent of cloud customers are using AI products, with Gemini's paying monthly active users growing 40% in a single quarter. TPU product lines were split for the first time into training and inference segments, while platform restructuring directly targets the 'agentic enterprise operating system.' JPMorgan, Bank of America Securities, and Citi Research all maintained their buy ratings on Google post-event, with target prices of $395, $370, and $405, respectively.
$Amazon (AMZN.US)$ Shares surged briefly in pre-market trading, currently up nearly 2%. Meta Platforms signed a multi-billion-dollar agreement with Amazon to utilize its CPU chips for artificial intelligence applications.
Analysts argue Microsoft shares were unfairly battered; 'The Big Short' investor takes a contrarian position.
Since last August, $Microsoft (MSFT.US)$ The stock has fallen approximately 20% cumulatively. Seeking Alpha analyst Bohdan Kucheriavyi believes this decline represents a classic case of emotional overreaction, with long-term investment value being undervalued. During the stock price drop, Microsoft continued to deliver impressive quarterly reports, with both Q1 and Q2 revenues achieving double-digit percentage growth, consistently surpassing market expectations. Microsoft’s upcoming Q3 earnings release is likely to maintain this steady performance, with the market currently forecasting Q3 revenue at $81.4 billion, up 16% year-over-year, and earnings per share at $4.06, up 17% year-over-year.
Additionally, 'The Big Short' investor Michael Burry recently stated that he anticipates a reversal in the 'AI narrative-driven software massacre,' disclosing that he purchased Microsoft shares on Thursday while also increasing his positions in MSCI, PayPal, and Adobe.
Taiwan raises single-stock fund holding limit to 25%, directly benefiting Taiwan Semiconductor.
$Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM.US)$ Shares rose more than 3% in pre-market trading as Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission announced a significant increase in the single-stock fund holding cap from 10% to 25%. JPMorgan forecasts this move will bring in over $6 billion in inflows, potentially pushing the Taiex to 40,000 points. However, Taiwan Semiconductor’s concentration risk, with a weight exceeding 44%, is becoming the Damocles sword hanging over this rally.
Avalanche after eightfold surge in one month! Avis short squeeze ends with second consecutive day of sharp declines.
$Avis Budget (CAR.US)$ The stock rebounded 2% in pre-market trading after plummeting 48% on Thursday, following a 38% drop on Wednesday. The stock had surged from just over $100 to nearly $850 within a month, with most of its gains occurring alongside the fastest rebound in U.S. stock market history. Signs suggest speculative sentiment in the U.S. stock market is waning.
$Alibaba (BABA.US)$ The stock rose nearly 2% in pre-market trading. Alibaba Cloud announced that starting April 30, 2026, at 10:00 (Beijing Time), the monthly credit quota for new Qoder Teams subscriptions will increase to 3,000 Credits, with the price adjusted to 300 RMB per seat per month.
Pony AI's Robotaxi cost is expected to drop below 230,000 yuan, with the debut of an L4-level autonomous light truck.
On April 24, $Pony AI (PONY.US)$ At the Beijing Auto Show, Pony AI announced that the total vehicle cost for the 2027 version of its Robotaxi will be reduced to under 230,000 yuan, which is already lower than some L2-level passenger vehicles. The company simultaneously launched the world’s first fully automotive-grade, fully redundant L4-level autonomous light truck, aiming to reduce urban distribution costs by approximately 50%. Technologically, World Model 2.0 constructs a data loop through self-learning, reinforcing the 'fail-operational' safety standard.
Global Macro
Multiple sources indicate that the Iranian delegation is arriving in Pakistan tonight, and the second round of US-Iran talks may resume.
On April 24 local time, according to sources from the Pakistani government, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi will lead a delegation to arrive in Islamabad on the evening of April 24. After discussions between the Iranian delegation and Pakistani officials, the United States and Iran are expected to hold a second round of talks. According to Pakistan's official media on April 24, Araghchi is expected to arrive in Pakistan leading an Iranian delegation that evening. The New York Post cited sources saying that the delegation is expected to arrive around 10:00 PM local time (1:00 AM Beijing Time), but it remains unclear whether negotiations will begin immediately. Pakistani and Iranian officials held a phone conference on Friday to discuss stalled ceasefire efforts.
According to Saudi media Alhadath, a senior official from the Pakistani government expects a major breakthrough in U.S.-Iran talks today. High-level sources indicated that a second round of negotiations might take place, though no specific date was provided. Other market reports show that U.S. logistical and security teams are already in Islamabad and will participate in peace talks.
The White House extended the shipping waiver until August to alleviate oil shortages.
The Trump administration extended the 90-day waiver related to the Jones Act, which aims to facilitate the transportation of oil, fuel, and fertilizers within the United States. This decision extended the existing waiver, originally set to expire on May 17, by approximately three months, allowing foreign-flagged vessels to transport goods between U.S. ports until mid-August. Typically, under the 1920 Jones Act, cargo transported via waterways between U.S. domestic ports must be carried by U.S.-flagged, U.S.-built, and U.S.-owned vessels. Trump's waiver temporarily lifted these restrictions for coal, crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas, natural gas liquids, fertilizers, and other energy derivatives.
Trump escalates pressure on the Federal Reserve: hints at alternative investigation into Powell’s renovation controversy
According to news outlet Semafor, Trump responded to external questions during a media interview on Thursday, stating that agencies other than the Department of Justice could investigate Powell and the Federal Reserve’s renovation-related expenses. He said, "Yes, it's very simple." This statement implies that Trump has not abandoned his intention to hold Powell accountable but leaves room for flexibility regarding the investigating body. This development directly impacts the confirmation process for Kevin Warsh, Trump's nominee for Federal Reserve Chair. North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis previously vowed to block Warsh’s nomination until the investigation into Powell is resolved.
JPMorgan warns: crude oil supply gap masked by 'pseudo-demand decline,' bigger shocks ahead
JPMorgan has warned of a "major issue" in global oil accounts. Apparent demand collapsed by 4.3 million barrels per day in April, surpassing the peak decline during the 2008 financial crisis. However, the reality is not a contraction in demand but rather a statistical reflection of supply disruptions. Inventory drawdowns have reached their fastest pace since 2017, with traditional buffer mechanisms failing one after another. The price pain for consumers in Europe and the United States has yet to fully materialize, and the market-clearing costs will be far more severe than the figures suggest.
SemiAnalysis CEO: model achieves 'biggest leap in capability in nearly two years,' supply chain facing 'extreme shortage'
On April 23, Dylan Patel, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SemiAnalysis, a renowned semiconductor and AI industry research institution, provided an in-depth breakdown of the current supply and demand dynamics, generational technological breakthroughs, and potential macroeconomic impacts within the AI sector during a detailed interview. Patel noted that Anthropic's new model, Mythos, achieved "the largest capability leap in nearly two years," advancing from L4 to L6 engineer-level performance in just two months at an "extremely low execution cost." Explosive demand has triggered urgent shortages across the entire supply chain: DRAM prices may double or triple, Taiwan Semiconductor's capital expenditure by 2028 could reach $100 billion, and there is a severe shortage of CPUs. Beyond the rapid advancements in technology and the frenzy of capital investment, growing public resistance in American society is becoming an unavoidable macroeconomic factor.
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)
22:00 Final reading of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for April
Looking to pick stocks or analyze holdings? Want to understand opportunities and risks in your portfolio? For all your investment-related questions, just ask Futubull AI!
Editor/KOKO