Hot News
The Federal Reserve's "third in command": There is currently no need to adjust interest rates, and the USA is in "very good" shape.
John Williams, the president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, stated that he believes the Federal Reserve does not need to adjust interest rates "in the near term," but emphasized the importance of ensuring that tariffs do not lead to persistently high inflation. Williams described the American economy as being in a "very good state," and given the great uncertainty regarding government policies and their eventual impact, the Federal Reserve can wait for more data. "We need to ensure that any one-off price changes do not translate into more persistent high inflation," Williams said in an interview with Fox Business Channel on Thursday. This statement aligns with those of Federal Reserve Chairman Powell and other colleagues, highlighting that policymakers are not in a hurry to adjust borrowing costs.
Trump: 100% confident in reaching a trade agreement with the EU; US Treasury Secretary: Negotiations with Japan are progressing in a very satisfactory direction.
US stocks rose during Regular Trading Hours on Thursday, with the Nasdaq turning positive. US Treasury Secretary Yellen stated that negotiations with Japan are progressing in a very satisfactory direction. However, US stocks later retraced gains, and the euro's decline against the dollar narrowed, with reports suggesting that the EU is considering imposing export restrictions on the USA in the event of a trade negotiation failure. According to CCTV News, Italian Prime Minister Meloni arrived at the White House for a meeting with Trump, who stated that he is "100% confident" in reaching a trade agreement with the EU before the 90-day tariff suspension period ends.
Trump previously discussed having former Federal Reserve Governor Warsh replace Powell ahead of schedule, but Warsh opposed this.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Trump met with former Federal Reserve Governor Warsh months ago at Mar-a-Lago and discussed possibly terminating Powell before the end of his term, with Warsh taking over. Warsh advised Trump not to dismiss Powell and advocated for allowing Powell to complete his term without interference. Their discussions continued until February of this year, while other White House officials suggested to Trump the dismissal of Powell until early March. However, sources told the media that Trump has not made a final decision on whether to terminate Powell before his term ends next year. On Wednesday, Powell stated that he believes the case regarding Trump's dismissal of National Labor Relations Board members is unlikely to apply to the Federal Reserve.
Trump has publicly criticized Powell three times in one day; the Supreme Court's ruling may affect Powell's tenure.
On the morning of Thursday, the 17th, Trump posted on Social Media:
"Always too late and wrong" Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell released a report yesterday, which was yet another typical, complete "mess"!
Powell should have lowered interest rates long ago like the European Central Bank, but now he definitely should lower them. The sooner Powell leaves, the better!
After a few minutes, Trump again "bombarded" Powell, saying the Federal Reserve should cut rates, which is what the Fed owes the American people. Powell will face a lot of political pressure.
Notably, a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court this May could become the "black swan" event of this summer. The Trump administration is preparing to request the Supreme Court to dismiss two high-ranking officials from federal agencies. Analysts point out that the final ruling in this case tests whether "Trump has the authority to dismiss Federal Reserve Chair Powell"—despite current Federal Reserve Act stipulations requiring "just cause" for such a dismissal, if the Supreme Court overturns the "Humphrey’s Executor" precedent, it would undoubtedly weaken this protective barrier, opening the door for presidential interference in the Fed's operations.
Post-Market Trading
Market sentiment is becoming cautious, with UnitedHealth plummeting over 22%, dragging the Dow Jones Industrial Average down by more than 1%.
On Thursday Eastern Time, the three major indices showed mixed results, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down more than 1%, the S&P 500 Index slightly up, and the Nasdaq slightly down. By the close, $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ Down 1.33%, $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ Up 0.13%, $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ Down 0.13%.
U.S. stock markets will be closed for one day on Good Friday, with trading hours ending early this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq dropped more than 2% this week, while the S&P 500 Index saw a weekly decline of 1.5%.
Most large technology stocks dropped, with Apple up 1.39%, Microsoft down 1.03%, NVIDIA down 2.87%, Alphabet down 1.42%, Amazon down 0.99%, Meta down 0.17%, and Tesla down 0.07%.
China Concept Stocks experienced mixed results, with the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index down 0.42%. Alibaba rose by 1.99%, JD.com fell by 1.73%, PDD Holdings increased by 1.45%, NIO remained flat, Xpeng Motors declined by 2.62%, Li Auto grew by 1.72%, Bilibili was up by 0.12%, Baidu increased by 0.11%, NetEase rose by 1.36%, and Tencent Music fell by 0.32%.
NVIDIA responds to Jensen Huang's visit to China: We meet regularly with the government to discuss product technology.
Recently, at the invitation of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang arrived in Peking, where he held talks with Ren Hongbin, the president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ In response to the CEO Jensen Huang's visit to China after three months: 'We regularly meet with government leaders to discuss our company's products and technology.' In addition, according to the Financial Times in the United Kingdom, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang visited Peking on April 17 and met with Liang Wenfeng, the founder of the generative AI startup DeepSeek, to discuss how to design the next generation of chips for China to meet customer needs and both US and Chinese regulatory requirements.
Netflix's second quarter performance outlook exceeded expectations, briefly surging nearly 5% in after-hours trading.
美国流媒体平台 $Netflix (NFLX.US)$ The earnings report released after trading on Thursday showed that due to strong growth in subscription and advertising revenue, the company's revenue and guidance for the second quarter exceeded analyst expectations, with quarterly profits reaching a record high, and it is expected that advertising sales will double by 2025, driving the stock price to rise nearly 5% in after-hours trading.
The CEO of Apple privately met with senior officials from the White House to discuss raising the price of the iPhone.
According to the Washington Post, two informed sources said, $Apple (AAPL.US)$ CEO Cook spoke last week with U.S. Commerce Secretary Ross about the potential impact of tariffs on iPhone prices. Sources revealed that Cook also spoke with other senior officials at the White House. Moreover, he did not publicly criticize the president and his policies on national television, unlike many other executives in recent weeks. Last weekend, the Trump administration agreed to exempt electronic products such as smart phones, computers, and chips from so-called 'reciprocal tariffs', giving a reprieve to other large U.S. companies including HP Inc and Dell. Informed sources said that White House trade advisor Navarro wanted these tariffs to remain, but Trump insisted on this exemption.
A U.S. federal judge ruled that Google illegally monopolized a portion of the online advertising technology market.
A US federal judge ruled that it constitutes illegal monopoly in certain online advertising technology markets, which poses a significant blow to a key business of the company. US District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled on Thursday that this subsidiary of Alphabet violated antitrust laws in both the advertising trading platform and the tools (i.e., ad servers) used by websites to sell advertising space. However, she also pointed out that in another market, namely the tools advertisers use to purchase display ads, Google does not meet the definition of monopoly. $Alphabet-C (GOOG.US)$ Hertz rental car rose over 44%, benefitting from a bet by Bill Ackman's hedge fund.
Regulatory filings reveal that as of the end of 2024, the hedge fund of Bill Ackman, Pershing Square, holds 4.1% of the shares.
According to informed sources, Pershing Square significantly increased its stake through equity and swap transactions to 19.8%, becoming the second-largest shareholder of Hertz. $Hertz Global (HTZ.US)$ Ackman's investment firm received a waiver from the US Securities and Exchange Commission to delay the submission of holding information until Wednesday, allowing them to accumulate more shares.
Trump does not support Japan's investment in United States Steel.
President Trump of the USA stated that he hopes $United States Steel (X.US)$ it is firmly held in the hands of the American people. Nippon Steel may be part of trade negotiations between the Japanese government and the USA. There is a desire to prevent foreign companies from purchasing stakes in United States Steel. There are doubts about whether Nippon Steel's acquisition of United States Steel can become part of Japan's tariffs. Even if Nippon Steel does not cooperate, tariffs will still be enforced. Nippon Steel can invest in the USA or become a partner. There is a hope that United States Steel will continue to remain within the USA.
UnitedHealth plummeted by 22%, dragging down the Dow Jones Industrial Average, with Q1 performance falling short of expectations, leading to a downward revision of the annual profit forecast.
$UnitedHealth (UNH.US)$In the first quarter, the adjusted EPS was $7.20, with a year-on-year revenue growth of 10%, reaching $109.58 billion. The market expected an EPS of $7.25 and revenue of $111.46 billion. Due to cost overruns related to its health insurance advantage business, UnitedHealth significantly downgraded its profit forecast, now expecting an annual adjusted EPS between $26 and $26.50, down from the previous estimate of $29.50 to $30. UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty stated in a press release that the company's "results did not meet expectations, and we are actively addressing these challenges to prepare for the coming years."
Boss Tea's debut rose nearly 16%.
Chinese ready-to-drink tea brand. $Chagee Holdings (CHA.US)$ Officially listed on the Nasdaq in the USA, with the stock code CHA, which is the pinyin for "tea." Bawang Chaji has become the first new-style tea beverage company to enter the US stock market. According to the prospectus, by the end of 2024, Bawang Chaji will have 6,440 stores worldwide, representing explosive growth compared to 1,087 stores in 2022. The total commodity trading volume for 2024 is expected to reach 29.5 billion yuan, with overseas markets covering countries like Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, and overseas stores numbering 156. By the close, Bawang Chaji's stock rose nearly 16%.
Eli Lilly and Co's stock rose over 14%, with impressive phase III clinical data for the oral weight-loss drug Orforglipron.
The trial results indicate that $Eli Lilly and Co (LLY.US)$ Orforglipron can match or even surpass the weight-loss effects of injectable GLP-1 drugs. Patients taking Orforglipron lost an average of 16 pounds, equivalent to 7.9% of their body weight. In comparison, Novo-Nordisk's star product Ozempic resulted in only about a 6% weight loss in diabetic patients at the highest dosage. Additionally, this oral medication also reduced blood sugar levels by an average of 1.3%, while Ozempic lowered it by 2.1%. By the close, Eli Lilly and Co's stock rose over 14%.
Top 20 by trading volume in the U.S. stock market.
Hong Kong Market Outlook
Northbound funds continue to sweep up Hong Kong stocks with 2.309 billion HKD, buying Alibaba for 0.835 billion HKD and selling XIAOMI-W for 1.343 billion HKD.
On April 17 (Thursday), southbound funds net bought 2.309 billion HKD of Hong Kong stocks, with the previous two days being: 7.9 billion HKD and 7.2 billion HKD.
$BABA-W (09988.HK)$、$TENCENT (00700.HK)$、$MEITUAN-W (03690.HK)$Net purchases were 0.835 billion Hong Kong dollars, 0.782 billion Hong Kong dollars, and 0.737 billion Hong Kong dollars respectively;
$TRACKER FUND OF HONG KONG (02800.HK)$、$XIAOMI-W (01810.HK)$、$CNOOC (00883.HK)$Net sales were 1.4 billion Hong Kong dollars, 1.343 billion Hong Kong dollars, and 70.29 million Hong Kong dollars respectively.
Today's focus.
Keywords: Hong Kong and USA stock markets are closed.
In terms of financial events, at 23:00, 2027 FOMC voting member and San Francisco Fed President Daly will deliver a speech.
In terms of market closures, due to Good Friday, the US stock market, Hong Kong stocks, Hong Kong Stock Connect, Singapore stocks, Canadian stocks, and Australian stocks will remain closed all day today.
Futubull Morning Reading:
In fact, if there isn't absolute certainty, actions won't be taken lightly.
——Warren Buffett
Editor/Rocky
