Summary of global markets and news

# Market Overview

Boosted by robust corporate earnings and the Trump administration’s temporary extension of the ceasefire, the three major U.S. stock indices closed higher collectively. The **S&P 500** and **Nasdaq Composite** hit all-time highs, with tech stocks leading the upward trend.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose around **2.7%**, logging 16 consecutive trading days of gains and setting its longest winning streak in history. All seven Magnificent Seven U.S. tech giants closed up. Software stocks climbed for the eighth straight session, rebounding nearly **20%** from their April lows. Boeing shares surged over **5.5%**, with its quarterly loss smaller than market expectations.

Following after-hours earnings releases, Tesla initially jumped **4%** but later fell more than **2%**; Texas Instruments spiked **10%**; software giant ServiceNow plunged over **13%**, weighing down the SaaS sector; IBM dropped more than **6%**.

Despite strong demand at the 20-year U.S. Treasury auction, U.S. Treasury yields posted a V-shaped movement overall and were lifted by rising oil prices. The 2-year Treasury yield rose **1.5 basis points**, and the 10-year yield climbed **1.4 basis points**.

The U.S. Dollar Index gained **0.18%**, rebounding for two consecutive trading days. Bitcoin rose **3.6%**, breaking above **$79,000** intraday to mark its highest level since February 2.

Spot gold surged then retreated, advancing over **1%** at one point in the session; spot silver rose **1.3%**. WTI crude futures settled up **3.67%**, and Brent crude futures closed **3.48%** higher at **$101.91 per barrel**.

In the Asian trading session, the **Shanghai Composite Index** reclaimed the 4,100-point mark. Computing hardware sectors staged a strong rally, with global giant Foxconn Industrial Internet hitting its daily limit intraday. The Hang Seng Technology Index fell over **2%**, and CATL H-shares dropped more than **5%**.

# Key News

## China

Fifteen government departments jointly issued policies to guide young people’s views on marriage and courtship, and explore fertility support policies linked across housing consumption and other sectors.

The General Offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued guidelines mandating strict controls on fossil fuel consumption, vigorous development of non-fossil energy and new energy storage, and accelerated construction of a new power system.

Shanghai’s GDP grew **5.9% year-on-year** in Q1 2026, achieving a solid economic start.

Huawei HarmonyOS Mobility held its spring launch event, unveiling five new vehicles in one go. Among them, the Shangjie Z7 went on sale, equipped with **896-line LiDAR** as a standard feature across all models.

DeepSeek officially upgraded its API model capabilities: its context window was expanded to **1 million tokens**, its knowledge cutoff date updated to **May 2025**, and its experience is now aligned with its web and mobile applications.

TSMC stated that due to the exorbitant price of ASML’s latest lithography machines, it will not deploy the equipment for mass chip production until at least 2029.

## Overseas

Trump stated that U.S.-Iran peace talks could resume as early as Friday. Iran refuted the claim, accusing him of lying again. Israeli media reported that the U.S.-Iran ceasefire deadline set by Trump expires on the 26th. On the same day, multiple merchant vessel attacks occurred in the Strait of Hormuz: three cargo ships were assaulted in one day, two of which were seized, escalating regional tensions.

Tesla released its Q1 2026 financial report, recording the fastest revenue growth in nearly three years, significantly exceeding profit expectations and doubling cash flow. Musk signaled a sharp increase in future capital expenditure. Consequently, Tesla’s after-hours stock initially rose over 4% before reversing to drop more than 2%.

SK Hynix reported Q1 2026 earnings with a net profit of **40 trillion KRW**, far surpassing market forecasts of 29 trillion KRW with outstanding results.

Despite meeting market expectations in Q1 earnings, ServiceNow slumped sharply after hours amid Middle East conflict headwinds and lingering concerns over AI disruption, dragging down the entire SaaS sector.

Driven by surging demand for AI data centers, GE Vernova’s Q1 2026 orders spiked **71% year-on-year**, and the company raised its free cash flow guidance by **40%** with robust performance.

Anthropic’s most advanced AI model suffered unauthorized access, revealing critical vulnerabilities in its security framework and sparking worries over technical leakage and misuse risks.

OpenAI launched a privacy filtering model that runs locally to accurately block personal sensitive information and upgrade privacy protection capabilities.

Google rolled out two new TPU chips, separating training and inference chips for the first time, while fully scaling out enterprise AI agents to further expand its AI computing layout.

# Market Closing Figures

## European & U.S. Stock Markets

- S&P 500: **+1.05%**, closing at 7,137.90, hitting a new all-time closing high after two trading days.

- Dow Jones Industrial Average: **+0.69%**, closing at 49,490.03.

- Nasdaq Composite: **+1.64%**, closing at 24,657.567.

- European STOXX 600 Index: **-0.35%**, closing at 613.88.

## A-Share Market

- Shanghai Composite Index: 4,106.26, **+0.52%**.

- Shenzhen Component Index: 15,177.29, **+1.30%**.

- ChiNext Index: 3,752.76, **+1.73%**.

## Bond Market

The 2-year U.S. Treasury yield rose **1.5 basis points**, while the 30-year yield remained largely flat.

## Commodities

- Spot gold: **+0.41%**, at $4,739.31 per troy ounce.

- Spot silver: **+1.26%**, at $77.6927 per troy ounce.

- WTI May crude futures: **+3.67%**, at $92.96 per barrel.

- Brent June crude futures: **+3.48%**, at $101.91 per barrel.

# Detailed News Updates

## Global Highlights

### China

Fifteen government departments jointly introduced policies to guide young people’s perceptions of marriage and courtship, and explore cross-domain fertility support mechanisms covering housing, consumption and other areas. The policies call for improved youth-oriented urban services, standardized social networking programs, expanded childcare subsidies, and integration of youth development into urban land planning. Small-sized dormitory-style apartments for young people will be built around employment hubs, educational and medical institutions, and rail transit lines to shorten commutes and balance residence and employment.

The General Offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council required stricter controls on fossil fuel consumption, deeper cuts in coal and oil use to drive their consumption peaks, accelerated development of non-fossil energy and new energy storage, and construction of a new power system. Plans include pumped hydro energy storage deployment, green power direct connection and smart microgrid development to boost clean energy absorption, with new renewable power output set to cover incremental national electricity demand.

Shanghai’s Q1 2026 GDP reached **13,526.91 billion RMB**, up **5.9% year-on-year** for a strong start. Industrial output strengthened, with three leading industries up **16.1%**; financial services drove overall service growth of **10.1%**; fixed-asset investment rose **7.6%**, with industrial investment surging **22.8%**; imports and exports expanded **21.9%**, and exports of the **New Three** categories jumped **1.2 times**.

Huawei HarmonyOS Mobility launched five new vehicles including Shangjie Z7, AITO M6, Zhijie V9 and the new M9, priced from **219,800 to 500,000 RMB**, covering sedans, SUVs and MPVs. All models feature Huawei high-end LiDAR and Kunpeng intelligent driving systems, accelerating the expansion of its full-scenario vehicle product lineup.

DeepSeek upgraded its official API with a **1-million-token context window** and knowledge cutoff updated to **May 2025**, matching its web and app experience. The update comes ahead of the launch of DeepSeek V4, its next flagship large model, which is internally scheduled for late April per company founder Liang Wenfeng.

TSMC’s co-COO stated that ASML’s High-NA EUV lithography machines cost **$410 million each**, making mass deployment unfeasible until at least 2029. As ASML’s largest client, TSMC’s decision hinders the machine’s commercialization, triggering a **2% short-term drop** in ASML’s stock price.

Cao Dewang, founder of Fuyao Glass, stated firmly at the annual general meeting amid U.S. tariff hikes: *“Imposing tariffs is your choice; I will never operate at a loss.”* He added that Fuyao would shut down its U.S. facilities rather than sustain losses. Fuyao is the first Chinese enterprise to win a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce.

### Overseas

Trump proposed potential U.S.-Iran negotiations as soon as Friday, while Iran reiterated its refusal to attend and accused him of deception. Iran’s president remains open to diplomatic settlements, while the parliamentary speaker stressed that full ceasefire and lifted maritime blockades are prerequisites for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. media reported Trump offered Iran a 3–5 day ceasefire extension, and Pakistani mediation raised near-term negotiation odds.

After declining the Islamabad talks on the 22nd, Iran’s UN envoy signaled receipt of U.S. indications of potential maritime blockade lifting, noting follow-up talks would likely be held in Islamabad. Israel-Lebanon secondary talks convened in the U.S. on the 23rd, with ongoing multi-front geopolitical tensions across the Middle East.

Three cargo vessels were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz within a single day, two of which were seized. Iran’s IRGC speedboats used firearms and RPGs against passing merchant ships, pushing the world’s critical energy shipping artery to the brink of direct armed conflict.

Tesla’s Q1 2026 results showed **16% year-on-year growth** in total revenue and automotive revenue on rebounding European and North American demand. Energy revenue fell **12%**, while service revenue surged **42%** and paid Robotaxi mileage nearly doubled month-on-month. Gross margin rose to **21%**, a three-year high. Capital expenditure was 40% below forecasts, with a $2 billion equity investment in SpaceX for joint chip factory development. Cortex 2 is live, Dojo 3 chip development progresses, and Optimus robot factory preparation begins in Q2 with production targets of 1 million and 10 million units for first and second-generation lines. Tesla’s after-hours stock initially rallied over 4% before declining over 2% on announced sharp capital expenditure hikes exceeding $25 billion for 2026.

SK Hynix posted Q1 net profit of **40 trillion KRW**, vastly outperforming market expectations of 29 trillion KRW.

ServiceNow reported Q1 revenue of **$3.77 billion**, up **22% year-on-year** in line with forecasts, with slightly above-consensus Q2 guidance. However, Middle East conflicts delayed large contracts, margin compression from mergers, and persistent Wall Street doubts over enterprise software amid AI disruption triggered a **13.55% after-hours stock drop** and broad SaaS sector decline.

GE Vernova saw explosive Q1 growth with orders up **71% year-on-year** and $4.8 billion in free cash flow, surpassing full-year 2025 levels. Booming AI data center and grid upgrade demand lifted gas power backlogs above **100GW**. Despite wind power headwinds from tariffs, the firm raised full-year financial outlooks and lifted free cash flow targets by nearly **40%**, signaling rapid global expansion in power infrastructure investment.

Anthropic’s flagship Mythos AI model suffered unauthorized access on its limited launch date, exposing flaws in its Project Glasswing security system. Third-party contractors and data-leak tools enabled unwanted model access. While Mythos has not yet been misused for cyberattacks, its vulnerability to system-exploiting capabilities raised widespread concerns over data leakage and abuse.

OpenAI open-sourced **Privacy Filter**, a local-run tool that identifies and blocks eight categories of personal sensitive data including names, accounts and passwords. Its contextual awareness distinguishes public and private information, strengthening developer ecosystem privacy safeguards without cloud data uploads.

Google Cloud unveiled two 8th-generation TPU chips: **8T for training** and **8I for inference**, designed to cut inference costs and scale enterprise AI agents for late-2025 release. It also launched the Gemini Enterprise Agent platform to expand automation use cases. Amid surging inference demand, Google is reshaping computing infrastructure to challenge the Nvidia-OpenAI industry duopoly.

# Research Highlights

Howard Marks noted market sentiment has turned pessimistic under fourfold pressures, emphasizing the S&P 500’s **22x P/E ratio** remains well above historical averages and is *not cheap*. On investment strategy, he stated “waiting for a bottom is foolish”, as bottoms are only identifiable in hindsight; **value is the sole buying criterion**. For exits, investors should disregard entry costs and assess whether the current price is still worth purchasing, as premature selling is the greatest investment error.

Goldman Sachs trading desks warned the systemic inflows driving the U.S. stock rally have entered their **final stage**, with easy gains exhausted. Rising energy costs erode corporate profits and consumer spending power, while speculative small-cap trading signals disorganized market positioning. Temporary ceasefire relief fails to resolve geopolitical deadlocks, shifting markets from passive chasing to fundamental-driven trading.

Historical financial analyses highlight recurring systemic risks across millennia: global debt nearing 100% of GDP, alongside AI bubbles and stablecoin expansion, validate six enduring crisis rules. The most hazardous assets are often perceived as safe; leverage amplifies systemic risk; inherent complexity breeds vulnerability; and remedies to past crises plant seeds for future collapses.

Bloomberg columnist Jonathan Levin analyzed Fed Governor Wall’s evasive testimony, where he deflected queries on presidential interference in Fed independence with humor and jargon. Wall acknowledged aggressive rate cuts remain unwarranted under current economic conditions, facing a dilemma between accommodating rate-cut demands and political repercussions.

Bank of America research warned of cascading crises across power, water and critical metals from AI data center expansion, largely unpriced by markets. By 2030, global data center power consumption will surpass Japan’s total electricity use, with water demand equaling New York City’s municipal supply. Copper, aluminum, gallium and germanium face structural shortages and price surges. Bottlenecks lie in delivery capacity and construction timelines, extending AI competition beyond computing power to energy and resource infrastructure revaluation.

## Domestic Macroeconomics

Xinhua Commentary stated signals of **stabilizing China’s real estate market are strengthening**, consolidating high-quality industry development. Recovery led by tier-1 and key tier-2 cities has improved market confidence. The upturn is not short-term volatility, but accumulated recovery momentum following prolonged industry adjustments.

## Domestic Corporations

On inquiries about potential 10 billion RMB annual revenue in 2026, Cambricon responded that founder Chen Tianshi gave no concrete numerical target but expressed industry optimism. He noted accelerating large-model innovation sustains rising intelligent computing demand, with broad client recognition achieved across the sector.

AI computing demand boosted high-end PCB output for Huizhou Shengyi Electronics. Its Q1 2026 revenue rose **53.91% year-on-year to 6.214 billion RMB**, with net profit up **62.90% to 1.242 billion RMB**. Profit growth outpaced revenue growth on premium PCB product expansion. R&D investment doubled to **417 million RMB** for advanced packaging layout, with ongoing capacity expansion lifting total assets to 32.7 billion RMB and sound liquidity.

Hengrui Medicine reported Q1 revenue of **8.141 billion RMB (+12.98% YoY)** and net profit of **2.282 billion RMB (+21.78% YoY)**. Revenue from innovative drugs exceeded **60% of total sales (61.69%)** for the first time, with non-oncology product revenue surging **92.13% YoY** for diversified product expansion. Total R&D investment reached 2.224 billion RMB, with 3 new innovations approved and 8 drug applications under review amid accelerated pipeline progress.

## Overseas Macroeconomics

Trump stated he would “take note of” enterprises declining tariff refunds. Following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidating his tariff policies, a **$160 billion+ refund window** opened amid political maneuvering. Tech giants including Apple and Amazon have not filed for refunds, while retailers such as Levi Strauss and Gap anticipate sizable refunds ($80 million for Levi Strauss) that may lift full-year earnings outlooks.

Latest polling showed Trump’s approval rating dropped to **33% (down 5 percentage points from March)**. Surge in living costs and fuel prices from Iran operations dragged his economic approval down to **30% (from 38% in March)**. Around **73% of respondents** view the U.S. economy as poor, and **72%** believe the nation is moving in the wrong direction.

The UK Parliament passed landmark legislation banning all individuals born on or after January 1, 2009 from purchasing cigarettes for life. Health officials called it a historic move to build England’s **first smoke-free generation**. Smoking causes 75,000 annual deaths in the UK, a quarter of total fatalities. France will also implement outdoor smoking bans in parks, beaches and public spaces starting July.

## Overseas Corporations

OpenAI’s GPT-image-2 public beta delivered breakthrough performance, with long-term industry impacts only beginning to unfold. Unlike incremental improvements in prior image AI models, ChatGPT Images 2.0 systematically integrates prompt understanding, linguistic rendering, stylistic replication and format adaptation into one unified model. It evolves from a standalone drawing tool into a full visual workflow system capable of demand analysis, reference retrieval and multi-size content generation.

Global CPU supply remains severely tight, with Intel and AMD planning **8%–17% price hikes in H2 2026**. Consumer CPU prices rose 5%–10% and server CPU prices 10%–20% since March. Intel targets an 8%–10% further increase, while AMD will implement two rounds of hikes for a cumulative 16%–17% rise.

Disclosed SpaceX confidential IPO documents revealed an incentive plan awarding **60 million shares to Musk** if the company’s market cap rises from $1.1 trillion to $6.6 trillion, tied to space data center computing targets. Musk previously purchased $1.4 billion in SpaceX employee stock and holds super-voting rights via dual-class share structure.

Boeing’s Q1 2026 revenue grew **14% YoY to $22.2 billion**, exceeding forecasts with narrowed net losses of $7 million. Commercial aircraft deliveries rose 10%, and total backlog orders hit an all-time high of **$695 billion**. While operating cash flow remained negative, the company repaid $7 billion in debt and doubled capital expenditure to $1.275 billion, advancing capacity expansion and deleveraging.

## Industry Themes

1. **Satellite Internet**

Shanghai municipal authorities released a digital economy pilot plan, accelerating the Qianshan Constellation, satellite internet commercial trials, and satellite IoT operations. The plan supports integrated maritime data platforms, low-altitude intelligent transportation infrastructure construction and unmanned aerial vehicle sensing networks.

*Commentary (CITIC Securities):* Following Starlink’s development trajectory, China’s satellite internet sector is poised for a decade-long golden growth period, opening a trillion-dollar market.

2. **Data Centers**

NVIDIA proposed 800V DC infrastructure upgrades to major South Korean power equipment manufacturers, advancing private cooperation on next-gen data center power systems. This marks a fundamental shift in AI data center power architecture, with reduced energy loss and enhanced efficiency for high-power AI chips. **2026 is deemed the inaugural year of 800V HVDC**, which will become the mainstream standard for megawatt-scale AI facilities post-2027 with NVIDIA’s Kyber platform rollout.

3. **Computing-Power & Energy Integration**

At the 2026 Computing-Energy Synergy Summit, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology launched the **Six-One Initiative**, covering toolkits, dashboards, pilot projects, project libraries, standard systems and strategic forums to integrate computing infrastructure with power grids. Listed in 2026 government infrastructure plans, the initiative advances multi-dimensional coordination across computing, storage, networking, power, energy and carbon management.

4. **HVDC (High-Voltage Direct Current)**

NVIDIA prioritized 800V DC designs for AI data centers to minimize power conversion losses amid extreme energy demand. The firm identified HVDC as its future power supply roadmap in whitepapers, with distributed 800V HVDC solutions set for mainstream adoption in 2026.

5. **HBM (High-Bandwidth Memory)**

SK Hynix broke ground on its first U.S. advanced packaging facility in Indiana with **$3.87 billion investment**, scheduled for late-2028 production of HBM4E and HBM5 (7th & 8th-gen HBM), alongside expanded domestic capacity in South Korea. Critical for AI computing and autonomous driving, global HBM demand is surging. SK Hynix holds ~**50% global market share** for HBM3E and HBM4 alongside Samsung and Micron.

## Upcoming Economic Events

- Scheduled PMI releases (manufacturing, services, composite) for the U.S., Eurozone, UK and Japan (April data)

- U.S. weekly initial jobless claims update

- Informal EU leaders’ summit: Iran conflicts and energy market shocks as core agenda

- Quarterly earnings releases from Intel and SAP

# Disclaimer

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