Today's stock reports - world stock indices, China, Chat GPT, copper, company stocks

The UK's FTSE (.FTSE) is at record highs, touching a peak, as is Europe's STOXX 600 (.STOXX) and the S&P 500 (.SPX) is close to hitting a record high in March.

The Hang Seng Index (.HSI) gained 20% in a rally that is now in its fourth week. China's latest economic data shows some stability, but investors have found support on the political front.

OpenAI has introduced the new Chat GPT-4o (GPT-4 Omni). For now it’s only on desktop, but it’s free. The new AI model is much smarter than previous models. And the sound response to human communication is similar to the reaction time of a person during a conversation. Translation quality has increased by 50%. Improved work with videos, pictures and text. The search engine competing with Google has not yet been launched, as Sam Altman promised the day before.

China will begin selling ultra-long treasury bonds - WSJ. China's Finance Ministry said it will begin selling the first batch of 1 trillion yuan of planned ultra-long special Treasury bonds on Friday as Beijing seeks to provide more support to the economy. Apparently they want to collect the idle savings of the Chinese and redirect them through the budget into economic growth.

They’re just not ready to print yuan yet. Chinese developer Country Garden avoided further default thanks to bond payments -WSJ. The company made payments on two bonds during the grace period, avoiding default days after the company said it might seek help from a government guarantor.

Beijing's Digest plan signals a shift in China's housing crisis - WSJ. Beijing's new focus on the housing glut marks a sea change in how top officials view China's long-running real estate crisis, setting the stage for rescue measures that could range from unprecedented relief for homebuyers to billions in government spending to buy back unsold properties.

BlackRock on Japanese stocks: Weak yen discourages investors from buying Japanese stocks.

Chile and Peru account for a third of global copper production.

African countries are rapidly increasing production, partly due to Chinese investment in developing African mining companies.
Platinum market shortage forecast widens amid weak supply and robust demand - WSJ
According to a new report from the World Platinum Investment Council. The precious metal market is forecast to have a deficit of 476,000 ounces in 2024, driven by limited supply from the mining sector and robust demand.

The lull in the cryptocurrency market may continue until the beginning of summer. But the second half of the year will be very optimistic - Coindesk.

Temu, a Chinese bargain shopping app, has turned cold on the US after spending billions - WSJ. The company is seeking to reduce its dependence on American shoppers as growth slows and risks could be similar to those of TikTok.

Anglo American has rejected BHP's offer to take over the company for $39 billion for the second time - FT. Keith Gill, known as Roaring Kitty, who dispersed GameStop shares in 2021, returned to social networks after 3 years. Against this background, the company's shares soared by 74%.

AMC shares rose 78%.

UAE launches new AI model Falcon 2 to compete with tech giants. The Falcon 2 series comes as companies and countries begin to develop their own language models following the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT in 2022.

Gas market. As of April 27, gas storage facilities in Europe were 61.6% full (approximately 64.5 billion m3). Decreasing by 0.46 billion m3 per week. Due to the reduction in pipeline gas supplies from Norway, market operators were forced to use gas from storage facilities, which had almost no effect on the price, because record high levels of reserves will contribute to further price reductions.
Although traders are raising bets on gas prices in Europe to rise to record levels from February 2022.

Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk (NVO) plans to sell bonds to finance expansion. NVO shares rose 3%.

Bloomberg: The IPO market in the United States is gaining momentum. And more companies are deciding to sell shares for the first time, said Lynn Martin, president of the New York Stock Exchange.

Cocoa futures fell 20% on Monday. Falling sharply from April highs.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) shares rose 5%. Following reports that the pharmaceutical giant plans to sell its UK pharmacy division.

Bloomberg: US dollar strength threatens to be 'ominous' for emerging markets. Encouraging authorities in more vulnerable countries to reconsider cutting interest rates to protect their currencies, said Kamakshya Trivedi of Goldman Sachs.
The Fed's Jefferson calls for keeping rates steady until inflation cools.

Bloomberg: US government bond yields across the entire maturity spectrum have stopped falling.
After a New York Fed survey showed consumer expectations for US inflation over the next year rose to their highest level since November. They remained slightly lower on the day and are down more than 10 basis points from yearly highs reached in late April. Inflation concerns have since eased, raising expectations of at least one Fed rate cut this year.
The bond market remains caught between demand from asset managers willing to buy at elevated yield levels and the risk that inflation will remain high. Consumer price figures for January-March exceeded consensus forecasts, causing sharp sell-offs in the bond market. April data will be published on Wednesday, after wholesale price indices are released on Tuesday.

FT: Pfizer (PFE) has filed a trademark for a new platform that will provide health information, online pharmacy and telemedicine services directly to American patients. The strategy is seen as a response to Eli Lilly's previously launched platform, LillyDirect, which also offers direct-to-consumer drug sales.

FT: Ferrari (RACE) is trying to attract a new generation of fans through high fashion. Ferrari launched its seventh clothing collection at Milan Fashion Week, including dresses, skirts, accessories (glasses for 950 euros and bags for more than 1,000 euros) with an emphasis on the brand's signature red and yellow colors. This strategic expansion into the fashion industry aims to attract a wider audience, including young shoppers and fans from Asia and Generation Z. Will it work? – we’ll soon find out from RACE’s profits.

J&J received the tightest spread in a year on $4 billion of bonds to help finance its $13 billion bid for Shockwave, JNJ will overpay relative to 30-year US Treasuries by only 62 basis points.

Still, gender inequality exists. Now in both directions. New York State has excluded companies owned by white, straight men from the bid to redevelop the airport. John Kennedy worth $2.3 billion.

The Information: Chinese regulators are recommending local tech companies buy fewer Nvidia chips.

WSJ: Walmart will cut hundreds of corporate jobs and transfer others. WMT shares are neutral.

Intel (INTC) shares rose 2% yesterday. The WSJ reported that INTC is in talks with Apollo Global Management to spend $11 billion to build a new chip plant in Ireland.

Investors are waiting for the inflation report.

Copper prices have risen 28% over the past 3 months, reaching a two-year high, entering overbought territory. The number of speculative long positions is approaching a record - 69,000 long futures contracts, up from 87,000 in 2021.
Let's see - if copper loses steam in a flat correction, this will be a signal for a new rally.

Today

Reports from Alibaba Group Holding, Home Depot and Sony Group.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the Producer Price Index for April. A slowdown is expected from 2.3% to 2.2% y/y.

And the core producer price index will slow down from 2.4% to 2.3% y/y.

The National Federation of Independent Business released its Small Business Optimism Index for April. The rate is expected to be 88, which will be slightly lower than the March figure.

The Google I/O developer conference kicks off today, where the search engine giant is expected to unveil its own artificial intelligence initiatives.