This content was published on <\/p>\n
April 30, 2026 – 12:52\n<\/p>\n
(Bloomberg) \u2014 Stocks fluctuated as investors dissected a deluge of earnings, including from four of the Magnificent Seven tech giants. The yen rallied sharply after Japanese officials stepped up verbal support for the currency.<\/p>\n
Nasdaq 100 contracts edged up as Alphabet Inc. rallied more than 7% in premarket trading after beating expectations, while Amazon.com Inc. rose after its report. Microsoft Corp. dropped as growth in its cloud-computing business fell short of high expectations. Meta Platforms Inc. fell amid concerns over its spending plans.<\/p>\n
Equity markets turned higher as global benchmark Brent crude oil erased an intraday jump of as much as 7.1% to above $126 a barrel. Axios had reported that President Donald Trump was slated to receive a briefing Thursday on new plans for potential military action in Iran, clouding hopes for an imminent peace agreement.<\/p>\n
From swings in oil prices to a divided Federal Reserve keeping rates on hold and impressive megacap tech earnings, traders are grappling with a barrage of whipsawing headlines. That\u2019s testing a global equity rally that has wiped out war-related losses and pushed US markets to new highs as investors still look for signs of an end to the conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cEquities are caught in between escalating Middle East tensions and strong fundamental earnings data being released,\u201d said Wolf von Rotberg, equity strategist at Bank J Safra Sarasin Ltd. \u201cOil prices moving toward $150\/bbl would likely increasingly impact the consumer in the US, which would also mark a turning point for equity markets. Thus, a deal is required to see a continued move higher over coming months.\u201d<\/p>\n
Japan\u2019s currency strengthened as much as 1.6% against the dollar to 157.85, its lowest since April 17, after Japan\u2019s top currency official Atsushi Mimura echoed Minister of Finance Satsuki Katayama\u2019s warning earlier Thursday that \u201cthe timing for taking bold steps is nearing.\u201d Treasuries rebounded after the surge in oil and a hawkish hold by the Fed drove bonds lower on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Europe\u2019s Stoxx 600 index turned higher on another day packed with corporate results and as traders prepared for interest rate decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England. Both are both expected to keep rates unchanged, with investors focused on policymakers\u2019 latest views on the outlook for inflation stemming from the Middle East conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Iran war is hitting energy-hungry Europe harder than other regions,\u201d said Marija Veitmane, head of equity research at State Street Global Markets. \u201cHigher oil prices are pushing up inflation expectations and ECB rate assumptions, making an earnings recovery increasingly unlikely.\u201d<\/p>\n
What Bloomberg Strategists Say\u2026<\/p>\n
The cross-asset picture is starting to resemble that seen in March, where stocks and bonds are sliding in unison, while oil and the US dollar shift higher. The action first started to deteriorate after an earlier Axios report that President Trump will consider re-escalating the Middle East conflict.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Mark Cranfield, MLIV. For full analysis, click here.<\/p>\n
Apple Inc. is the day\u2019s marquee earnings event after a frenzied Wednesday offered a glimpse at how some of the world\u2019s biggest tech companies are doing in artificial intelligence. A slew of US economic data is also due Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cAI is giving markets a structural growth story, but oil is turning geopolitics into a structural inflation risk,\u201d said Charu Chanana, the chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets. \u201cWith positioning still crowded in parts of tech, the market can no longer rely on earnings strength alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Fed left rates unchanged Wednesday, but revealed a deepening division over the outlook for policy. Traders have all but abandoned wagers on a rate cut this year and began pricing in the chances of a hike in 2027.<\/p>\n
Jerome Powell\u2019s press conference was his last at the helm of the central bank after the Justice Department dropped a controversial criminal investigation into the Fed, clearing the way for the Senate confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next chair. Powell said he\u2019ll remain at the central bank as a governor.<\/p>\n
The latest gathering revealed a deepening division. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack alongside Minneapolis\u2019 Neel Kashkari and Dallas\u2019 Lorie Logan \u201csupported maintaining the target range for the federal funds rate but did not support inclusion of an easing bias in the statement at this time.\u201d Governor Stephen Miran dissented in favor of a cut.<\/p>\n
Corporate News:<\/p>\n
Merck & Co. reported first-quarter sales that beat Wall Street estimates as demand ramps up for newer products like Winrevair and an injectable version of cancer blockbuster Keytruda. Caterpillar Inc. posted first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations as surging electricity demand from artificial intelligence data centers boosted sales of the company\u2019s power-generation equipment. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. eked out higher sales last quarter, suggesting the chain is starting to win back diners who previously balked at the rising price of its burritos. Societe Generale SA beat estimates for profit as its equities traders rode the market volatility of the first quarter and the French retail unit benefited from lower rates for regulated savings accounts. BNP Paribas SA beat analyst estimates for profit in the first quarter as it joined the equities trading windfall across the industry. Glencore Plc\u2019s oil and gas team made bumper profits as the Iran war roiled global energy markets, with the surge in prices helping to put the firm on course for one of its best-ever trading results. Stellantis NV shares fell as investors questioned the sustainability of an apparent turnaround in the key North American market, where its performance was bolstered by price cuts and one-time financial gains. Unilever Plc\u2019s sales grew more than expected at the start of the year as consumers in emerging markets snapped up laundry detergents and Dove soap. Some of the main moves in markets:<\/p>\n
Stocks<\/p>\n
S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% as of 6:51 a.m. New York time Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.2% Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.3% The MSCI World Index was little changed Currencies<\/p>\n
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.5% The euro rose 0.3% to $1.1709 The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.3519 The Japanese yen rose 1.9% to 157.34 per dollar Cryptocurrencies<\/p>\n
Bitcoin rose 0.5% to $76,012.96 Ether rose 0.9% to $2,260.19 Bonds<\/p>\n
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 4.40% Germany\u2019s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 3.09% Britain\u2019s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 5.04% Commodities<\/p>\n
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.1% to $106.77 a barrel Spot gold rose 2% to $4,637.05 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.<\/p>\n
\u2013With assistance from Anand Krishnamoorthy.<\/p>\n
\u00a92026 Bloomberg L.P.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This content was published on April 30, 2026 – 12:52 (Bloomberg) \u2014 Stocks fluctuated as investors dissected a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1572,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1990,41,17,1991],"class_list":{"0":"post-58200","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-switzerland","8":"tag-business-general","9":"tag-swiss","10":"tag-switzerland","11":"tag-ticker"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116493468911865346","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}