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Before the market opened on Thursday, the U.S. released several economic data points. The annual core PCE price index for March was 3.2%, in line with expectations of 3.2%, compared to a previous reading of 3%. The monthly core PCE price index for March was 0.3%, matching expectations of 0.3%, compared to a prior figure of 0.4%. The initial reading of the annualized quarterly real GDP growth rate for Q1 stood at 2%, below expectations of 2.3%, and up from the prior value of 0.5%. The number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. for the week ending April 25 was 189,000, lower than the expected 215,000, with the previous figure revised from 214,000 to 215,000. Futures for all three major indices rose as of the time of writing, with Dow futures up 0.57%, Nasdaq futures gaining 0.45%, and S&P futures climbing 0.33%.

$Star Tech Companies (LIST2518.US)$Pre-market movements were mixed, with META down more than 9%, Google up nearly 8%, and Amazon and Intel both up over 2%.

$China Concept Stocks (LIST2517.US)$ The pre-market saw broad gains, with Baidu rising over 1%, Taiwan Semiconductor up 0.56%, and United Microelectronics falling nearly 2%.

Individual Stock News

• Market Watch! Apple's Focus Tonight: Forget iPhone, Look at the New CEO

$Apple (AAPL.US)$ Apple will release its fiscal second-quarter results for the 2026 financial year (ended March 28) after the U.S. market closes on Thursday, followed by an analyst conference call. Typically, when the world’s largest technology company by market value releases its earnings report, Wall Street closely monitors iPhone shipments, revenue growth in the services segment, and gross margin trends. However, this time, investors’ focus has shifted directionally—instead of fixating solely on the numbers, the market is now trying to glean incoming CEO John Ternus's strategic vision for Apple’s future from this earnings call.

• After nine years of development, Tesla's Semi electric heavy-duty truck finally enters mass production, potentially catching the wave of surging market demand.

$Tesla (TSLA.US)$ Tesla announced that the first Semi electric heavy-duty truck has rolled off the production line at its new high-capacity production facility located at the Nevada Gigafactory. According to the company's official website, deliveries are expected to commence this year. The dedicated production line for the Semi at the Nevada Gigafactory spans an area of 1.7 million square feet, with an annual production capacity designed to reach 50,000 units. The projected delivery volume for 2026 is between 5,000 and 15,000 units. This site has achieved vertical integration of the 4680 battery, resolving previous supply chain bottlenecks that had constrained mass production and providing assurance for scaling up output.

• Emerging markets 'grabbing soap' to offset sluggish demand in North America, Unilever sees Q1 sales surge driving revenue above expectations

Consumer goods giant $Unilever (UL.US)$ released its first-quarter financial report for 2026 before the U.S. market opened on April 30. Thanks to strong consumer demand in emerging markets for Dove soap, cleaning products, and other daily necessities, the company successfully offset weak demand in the U.S., with first-quarter sales growing beyond market expectations. However, behind the impressive sales figures,战略布局围绕北美增长放缓的问题 continues to test the aggressive transformation being pushed by the new CEO, Fernando Fernandez.

The financial report shows that underlying sales in Q1 increased by 3.8% year-over-year, surpassing analysts' forecast of 3.7%. More notably, this growth was primarily driven by volume increases: underlying volume in Q1 grew by 2.9%, far exceeding the analysts' expectation of 1.8%, while prices rose only moderately by 0.9%, demonstrating growth resilience driven by real demand.

• Ahead of CoreWeave's earnings, Oppenheimer issued a positive outlook: data center capacity expansion exceeds expectations, and the revenue target for 2026 may be significantly raised.

According to the latest research by Oppenheimer, an investment bank, $CoreWeave (CRWV.US)$ the expansion rate of CoreWeave’s data center capacity appears to be faster than expected, which could drive revenue growth for this year.

Oppenheimer analyst Param Singh wrote in a report to clients: "CoreWeave will release its Q1 earnings on May 7, and we expect its revenue to be at the high end of the guidance range. Additionally, management is likely to significantly raise the 2026 revenue target to above $12 billion to $13 billion (previous expectations). This is based on the results of our industry survey, which indicates that CoreWeave’s expansion pace has exceeded expectations and it may have the ability to add 1 gigawatt (GW) of capacity before Q3 (above guidance/expectations). We also anticipate that the AI data center capacity shortage across the industry will persist for multiple years, during which CoreWeave is expected to grow its capacity to at least 6 GW."

• Meta Platforms Earnings Call: Full-Year Capital Expenditure Raised by $10 Billion to a Record High; Path to Commercialization of AI Agents Still Unclear

$Meta Platforms (META.US)$ Capital expenditure raised to as much as $145 billion, a record high, while daily active users saw their first-ever quarterly decline.

On April 29, after the US stock market closed, Meta announced its first-quarter financial results. Although revenue exceeded expectations, the company raised the upper limit of its full-year capital expenditure to 145 billion US dollars, 10 billion US dollars higher than the guidance three months ago, which sharply increased investors' concerns about the return on AI investments.

This is the largest capital expenditure plan in Meta's history. Chief Financial Officer Susan Li stated that the increase in expenditure was mainly due to rising costs of hardware components and the expansion of data centers.

Meanwhile, Meta's daily active user count experienced its first-ever quarterly decline, dropping from 3.58 billion in the previous quarter to 3.56 billion. The company attributed this to internet outages in Iran and Russia’s restrictions on WhatsApp access.

During the subsequent analyst conference call, CEO Zuckerberg emphasized the empowering value of AI for the advertising business and the long-term commercial potential of AI agents, but did not provide a specific timeline for return on investment.

• Amazon Earnings Call: $364 Billion Backlog, First Systematic Disclosure of In-House Chip Business Scale; CEO Declares AI as a 'Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity'

AWS growth accelerates, chip business exceeds market expectations, profit margin hits record high — $Amazon (AMZN.US)$ During the Q1 2026 earnings call, CEO Jassy explicitly stated that the company is in the midst of a 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,' unveiling a figure that has prompted the market to reassess its AI strategy: if the chip business were operated independently, it would generate annual revenue of up to $50 billion.

Amazon's recently released Q1 2026 earnings report delivered an impressive performance to the market. The report showed total revenue for the quarter reaching $181.5 billion, representing a 17% year-over-year increase (or 15% excluding currency effects). Even more remarkable was the profitability, with operating profit hitting $23.9 billion and an operating margin of 13.1%, setting a new historical high for Amazon.

The substantial profits are being rapidly reinvested into the future. Amazon's cash capital expenditure (Cash CapEx) for Q1 reached $43.2 billion. Despite the significant capital outlay, CEO Andy Jassy expressed absolute confidence:

"We are at one of the most pivotal turning points in our lifetimes. We believe this is a 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,' and every application we know will be reimagined."

• Alphabet Q1 Delivers Stunning Results: Revenue Grows 22%, Google Cloud Surges 63% to $20 Billion; $70 Billion Buyback Plus 5% Dividend Increase Rewards Shareholders

Google parent company $Alphabet-A (GOOGL.US)$ submitted a highly impactful Q1 2026 earnings report after market close on April 29 (Wednesday) Eastern Time. The report showed Alphabet achieved better-than-expected dual growth in both revenue and profit for the quarter, with total revenue rising to $109.9 billion, a 22% year-over-year increase, significantly surpassing the market's prior estimate of $107.2 billion.

Even more eye-catching for investors was the optimization of operational efficiency and an extraordinary non-operating income of $37.7 billion—mainly from unrealized book value gains on non-listed equity investments—which caused the company’s net profit to surge by 81% year-on-year to $62.6 billion, compared to $34.5 billion in the same period last year. Correspondingly, diluted earnings per share (EPS) reached $5.11, an 82% increase from $2.81 a year earlier, far exceeding analysts' general expectations within the range of $2.63 to $2.68. Consolidated operating margin also expanded further from 33.9% to 36.1%.

As the most dazzling growth driver in the earnings report, Google Cloud officially announced its entry into a mature profitability phase, with quarterly revenue hitting the $20 billion mark for the first time, registering a year-on-year growth rate of 63.4%, far surpassing the $12.26 billion recorded in the same period last year. The segment's operating profit performance was also remarkably robust, surging from $2.18 billion a year ago to $6.6 billion, with the operating margin significantly improving from 17.8% to 32.9%.

• Eli Lilly and Co shares surged pre-market after disclosing earnings report

$Eli Lilly and Co (LLY.US)$ The company's revenue for the first quarter was $19.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 56%; non-GAAP earnings per share were $8.55.

Global Macro

• The Bank of England’s decision to keep rates unchanged met expectations, while the Middle East conflict is having a “significant impact” on inflation; several officials hinted that the window for a rate hike is approaching.

The Bank of England voted 8-1 to maintain the interest rate at 3.75%, but signaled a clear shift in policy. Governor Bailey stated that the Middle East conflict has had a “significant impact” on inflation, with year-end inflation expected to be slightly above 3.5%. For the first time, the central bank abandoned its single forecast and adopted a three-scenario analysis, all pointing to the need for further rate increases. In the most pessimistic scenario, if oil prices remain at $130, inflation could reach 6.2%, requiring an interest rate hike of 66 to 151 basis points. The market has already priced in three rate hikes by the end of the year, with the earliest potentially occurring in June.

• Expectations of intervention rise as the yen falls below 160! Japan's finance minister hints at 'bold action on the horizon.'

As central banks delay interest rate adjustments and tensions in the Middle East push up oil prices, investors increasingly view official market intervention as the only lever capable of curbing the yen’s decline in the short term. Japan’s finance minister also explicitly stated that the timing for bold intervention measures is “approaching.” On Thursday, the yen continued its decline, hitting its weakest level since mid-2024 following the Fed’s policy meeting. The yen fell further during Asian trading hours after reports emerged that U.S. President Trump would be briefed on new military options against Iran.

• The Global Economy at a "Crossroads"—As Energy Shocks Approach a Tipping Point

The blockade of Hormuz has torn a "black hole" in global supply, with over 10% of crude oil supply vanishing overnight. Yet, the rise in oil prices remains "moderate"—the release of reserves is masking the true extent of the crisis. JPMorgan has warned: once inventories are depleted, Brent crude will soar to $150 per barrel, pushing global CPI annualized rates above 10% within three months and elevating the probability of a recession to 35%. Whether the strait can be reopened is now the sole variable determining the fate of the global economy.

• The U.S. military plans to strike Iran using “hypersonic missiles,” and will report new “strike plans” to Trump on Thursday.

U.S. Central Command has requested to deploy the “Dark Eagle” hypersonic missile to the Middle East. If approved, this would mark the first time the U.S. deploys hypersonic missiles in combat, potentially targeting Iran’s inland ballistic missile launch sites. Following the news, Brent crude oil futures for June rose above $122, reaching a new high since the Iran war. With the conflict nearing its 60th day, further military action by the president beyond this point would require congressional authorization.

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)

20:30 U.S. Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending April 25 (in ten thousands)

20:30 U.S. March Core PCE Price Index Year-over-Year

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