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U.S. Market Overview:
On Wednesday, The S&P 500 added 79 points (+1.08%) to close at 7,432, the Nasdaq 100 gained 478 points (+1.66%) to finish at 29,297, and the Dow picked up 645 points (+1.31%) to settle at 50,009. On the sector front, Consumer Discretionary (XLY), Technology (XLK), and Materials (XLB) led the way, while Energy (XLE), Consumer Staples (XLP), and Health Care (XLV) lagged.
U.S. Economic Developments:
The April Fed minutes, released today, showed the Committee held rates steady at 3.50 - 3.75%, citing elevated inflation driven by rising global energy prices linked to the Middle East conflict. Economic activity continued to expand at a solid pace, while labor market conditions remained stable with the unemployment rate little changed. Most members signaled rates could remain on hold longer than previously anticipated, with a majority noting that further policy firming may become appropriate if inflation continues to run persistently above the 2% target.
U.S. Equity News:
Among large caps, Tesla (TSLA) led the way, gaining 3.25%, followed by Amazon (AMZN) up 2.19%, and NVIDIA (NVDA) adding 1.3%. Apple (AAPL) rose 1.1%, while Microsoft (MSFT) gained 0.87%. META Platforms (META) and Alphabet (GOOGL) posted modest gains of 0.41% and 0.32%, respectively.
Europe Market Overview:
At the European close, major indices finished in positive territory. Germany's DAX added 336 points (+1.38%) to close at 24,737, France's CAC 40 gained 135 points (+1.70%) to settle at 8,117, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 picked up 101 points (+0.99%) to finish at 10,432. On the stat plan, U.K. inflation rate eased to 2.8% year-on-year in April vs 3% expected and 3.3% a month earlier. Separately, Germany's producer price index increased to 1.7% year-on-year in April vs +1.6% anticipated and -0.2% in March.
Volatility & Commodities Snapshot:
The VIX declined 3.43% to 17.44, while the U.S. 10-year yield gained 0.719 basis points to 4.578%.
In commodities, gold added $64.17 (+1.43%) to $4,545.45 and silver gained $2.03 (+2.75%) to $75.88, while WTI crude oil retreated $5.61 (-5.39%) to $98.54.
The Dollar & Majors: Greenback Retreats Across the Board.
The dollar index slipped 0.21 points (-0.21%) to 99.116.
EUR/USD gained 22 pips (+0.19%) to 1.1626.
GBP/USD advanced 43 pips (+0.32%) to 1.3436.
USD/JPY declined 16 pips (-0.10%) to 158.88.
USD/CHF retreated 19 pips (-0.24%) to 0.7869.
AUD/USD gained 45 pips (+0.63%) to 0.7154.
USD/CAD was little changed at 1.3744.
Digital Assets:
Finally, in the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin gained $564 (+0.73%) to $77,543, while Ethereum added $15 (+0.74%) to $2,132.
After Hours:
NVIDIA (NVDA), a leading designer of graphics processors and AI chips, reported record first quarter revenue of $81.6 billion, raised its quarterly dividend, and announced a $80 billion dollar share buyback.
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