Wall Street News Breakfast FM-Radio | May 4, 2026

Wall Street News Breakfast FM-Radio | May 4, 2026

```

Morning Voice of Huajian

Please upgrade to the latest version of the Jianwen APP, so you can successfully listen to the following audio.

Market Overview

Friday:

  • Tech stocks drove the S&P and Nasdaq to consecutive record highs, rising for five weeks in a row, marking the longest consecutive weekly gains in a year and a half. Trump says he is "not satisfied" with Iran's new proposal, the Dow turns downward. After earnings: Apple rose over 3%, Sandisk, down over 4% early, closed up more than 8%; Western Digital, down 7% early, closed down 0.7%; software stocks Atlassian and Twilio jumped nearly 30% and over 20%, respectively; Oracle, joining the Pentagon AI project, rose 6.5%; Spirit Airlines, reportedly preparing to cease operations, dropped 70% at one point, ended down 25%.
  • After Iran negotiation news, U.S. Treasury yields plunged; Iranian news hit crude oil hard, WTI once fell below $100, down over 5%, but still up for two weeks; gold dropped over 1% intraday then turned positive, gold and silver soared after Iranian news.
  • The U.S. dollar index dropped below 98, hitting a two-week low, then reversed in a V-shape. The yen rebounded strongly but later turned down intraday, still marking the biggest weekly gain in over two months. Offshore RMB rose over 100 points past 6.83, then gave up most gains. Bitcoin neared $79,000 intraday, up over 3% from the day's low.

Monday, affected by U.S. plans to direct ships away from the troubled Strait of Hormuz, international crude oil opened lower; early Asian session, Brent dropped over 2%, WTI dropped 1.6%. Silver fell 0.9%, gold dropped 0.5%, U.S. stock index futures rose 0.2%.

Major News

China

Ministry of Commerce issued a ban, blocking U.S. from imposing Iran-related oil sanctions on five Chinese enterprises, saying China consistently opposes unilateral sanctions lacking UN authorization or basis in international law.

Overseas

Friday: Iranian Foreign Ministry says reaching short-term results is not realistic, Iran handed over a new negotiation proposal via mediators, reportedly loosening conditions, willing to exchange discussion of nuclear issues for U.S. lifting sanctions; Trump says "not satisfied" but inclined not to strike, tells Congress hostile actions with Iran are "over"; U.S. officials say U.S. largest carrier "Ford" has left the Middle East; U.S. Treasury threatens sanctions on shipping companies paying passage fees to Iran.

Weekend: Iranian media said Iran's new negotiation proposal 14-point proposal, 30-day deadline, focuses on ending the war rather than extending ceasefire. U.S. media says Iran's proposal does not require lifting Hormuz Strait blockade before direct talks; Iranian Foreign Ministry says currently "reviewing" U.S. response to 14-point proposal, current negotiations do not involve nuclear; Trump: Iran's new proposal "unacceptable", U.S. will start actions Monday, directing trapped Hormuz ships to depart, U.S. representatives are currently in dialogue with Iran, could bring extremely positive outcomes; maritime intelligence firm: A giant Iranian oil tanker "evaded" U.S. navy tracking, headed to Indonesia's Riau Islands.

Trump: will impose 25% tariffs this week on EU cars and trucks exported to the U.S..

U.S. April ISM Manufacturing PMI expansion continues, Iran war drives input prices to soar, employment index drops to four-month low.

U.S. Fed April meeting, three officials voted against: Fed should not hint at rate cuts as next step.

U.S. listed companies may end the 54-year quarterly earnings system, proposal to change to semiannual disclosure has passed White House review.

Before the 5.4 trillion yen intervention, Japan Finance Minister once warned traders "keep phones in hand", analysis suggests yen intervention will become the "new normal".

OPEC+ agrees to increase production by 188,000 barrels/day in June, slightly less than May's increase of 206,000 barrels/day, but this may only be "on paper".

Berkshire holds first shareholders' meeting in the "post-Buffett era", CEO Abel: "Stay patient and don't invest capital in suboptimal opportunities", Don't pursue AI for AI's sake, absolute cooperation with Buffett in investments, Japan investments are long-term, legendary Buffett-Munger partnership "cannot be replicated"; Insurance Vice Chairman: Hormuz Strait insurance "depends on price", Don't expect AI stock recommendations; Buffett: Scores Abel 100/100, Earned $150 billion in ten years investing in Apple "doing nothing", Cook created a business management miracle, market gambling mood is unprecedented, lacks ideal investment environment, best time is when panic hits "no one answers the phone", Powell is more at ease.

Berkshire Q1 net profit rose 120%, cash reserves hit record $397 billion, net stock sell-off for 14 consecutive quarters.

Market Closing Summary

U.S./European Stock Markets: S&P 500 up 0.29% to 7230.12, weekly gain 0.91%; Dow down 0.31% to 49449.27, weekly gain 0.44%; Nasdaq up 0.89% to 25114.443, weekly gain 1.12%. Europe STOXX 600 up 0.04% to 611.55, weekly gain 0.15%.

A-shares closed for holiday.

Bond Market: At bond market close, U.S. 10-year Treasury yield about 4.37%, flat from Thursday, weekly rise about 7bps; 2-year Treasury yield about 3.88%, daily rise about 1bp, weekly rise about 10bps.

Commodities: WTI June crude futures closed down 2.98% at $101.94/barrel, weekly gain 7.99%; Brent June crude down 2.02% at $108.17/barrel, weekly gain 9.12%. COMEX May gold up 0.33% at $4629.9/oz, weekly drop 2%. COMEX May silver up 3.29% at $75.951/oz, weekly drop 0.61%. LME copper up $10, 0.08%, at $12996/ton, weekly drop 2.36%. LME aluminum up 1.38%, at $3522/ton, weekly drop 1.92%. LME nickel down 0.53%, at $19365/ton, weekly gain 1.84%.

 

 

Detailed Major News

Global Highlights

China

On May 2, Ministry of Commerce issued a ban, blocking U.S. from imposing Iran-related oil sanctions on five Chinese enterprises. The ministry spokesperson responded, saying U.S. sanctions on these Chinese companies violate international law and basic norms of international relations. The ban aims to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and protect the legitimate rights of Chinese citizens, legal entities, or other organizations. China's government consistently opposes unilateral sanctions lacking UN authorization or basis in international law.

Overseas

May 1, Friday, Iran handed over new negotiation proposal via mediators, "loosened negotiation conditions", Trump says "not satisfied" but inclined not to strike, tells Congress hostile actions with Iran are "over". Reports say Iran willing to discuss nuclear in exchange for U.S. sanctions removal, and is willing to negotiate opening the Strait of Hormuz if U.S. guarantees stop attacks and removes port blockade. White House letter to Congress says war with Iran has actually ended but Iran still poses a major threat.

Trump: will impose 25% tariffs on EU cars and trucks exported to U.S. this week. Trump said that since the EU failed to honor trade agreements, U.S. will impose tariffs on imported EU cars and trucks, raising rate to 25%. Companies that manufacture in the U.S. are exempt from tariffs. European Parliament's Trade Committee chairman Lange called Trump's move "unacceptable" and criticized repeated U.S. breaches of agreements.

U.S. April ISM Manufacturing PMIexpansion continues, Iran war drives input prices to soar. U.S. April ISM Manufacturing PMI 52.7, forecast 53.2, previous 52.7. Input price index rose for fourth month, reaching 84.6, highest in four years, forecast 80, previous 78.3. Employment index 46.4, forecast 48.8, down to four-month low.

Fed April meeting, three officials voted against: should not hint next step is rate cut. Friday, Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari, Dallas Fed President Logan, and Cleveland Fed President Harker explained their dissenting votes at April FOMC, all agreeing on keeping rates unchanged but objected to the statement wording, with similar logic.

U.S. listed companies may say goodbye to 54-year quarterly reporting, semiannual reporting proposal passed White House review. SEC will allow reduction of quarterly disclosures to twice yearly, with White House review completed earlier this week. SEC can now announce the proposal and solicit public opinion. After feedback, commissioners may take months to vote for final adoption.

Before the 5.4 trillion yen intervention, Japan's finance minister warned traders "keep phones in hand", intervention to become new normal? Data shows Japan reportedly used about 5.4 trillion yen ($34.5 billion) in forex intervention recently, first since July 2024, among largest ever. Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama rarely warned traders beforehand "keep phones ready," which proved prescient. Analysts expect yen intervention to be the "new normal".

OPEC+ agrees on June output increase of 188,000 barrels/day, slightly less than May’s 206,000, but may just be a "paper figure". June's increase equals May's minus UAE share, as UAE exited OPEC May 1, Sunday marked first OPEC+ meeting without UAE. Analysts say move signals readiness to boost output as soon as war ends.

First Berkshire shareholder meeting in "post-Buffett era": Abel emphasized "stay patient, don't invest capital in suboptimal opportunities" (see full Q&A transcript). AI and Berkshire business outlook dominated the meeting. Abel said investments in absolute cooperation with Buffett, Japan investments are long term. 2026 Berkshire meeting highlights, 500 words summarizing 4.5 hours.

Selected Research Reports

Google, Caterpillar are "big winners", AI and earnings outweigh war, U.S. stocks post best month since 2020 in April. April U.S. stocks ended strong, S&P 500 up 10% monthly, best since Nov 2020. Alphabet's earnings beat, shares surged nearly 10%. Caterpillar driven by AI data center power demand, shares up over 9%. Despite geopolitical tension, rising inflation, delayed Fed rate-cut expectations, sentiment is led by corporate earnings and AI narrative.

Lessons from tech giants' earnings. Google Cloud order backlog jumped $219 billion in one quarter, nearly doubled, TPU chips open new market; AWS backlog exceeded $120 billion, growth accelerated; three cloud vendors had combined quarter-end backlog over $1.5 trillion. Morgan Stanley says hyperscale cloud vendor revenue acceleration is key validation for this year's generative AI ROI.

Google's "historic biggest gain", Nvidia falls! Goldman senior semiconductor analyst says "go long cloud, reduce chips". Goldman says semis are overvalued, hyperscale cloud service valuations below historical average, room for adjustment. Whether cloud giants improve returns or cut capex, cloud sector will benefit, chip stocks face downside risk.

Will AI capital spending reach $1 trillion in 2027? BofA raises 2026 global cloud vendor capex estimate to over $800 billion (+67% YoY), may exceed $1 trillion by 2027. Microsoft's capex guidance is $24 billion above forecast, $25 billion comes from parts price hikes, showing AI chip supplier pricing power. Supply limited all year, demand supported by client commitments; AI semiconductor sector expected to remain strong.

JPMorgan: September is the limit, oil inventories will hit bottom, Hormuz Strait "will reopen no matter what". JPM warns global oil inventory "plenty" is an illusion—of 8.4bn barrels, about 6.6bn are on land, 1.8bn afloat, truly usable only about 800mn barrels, nearly 280mn already used. If Hormuz sticks closed, commercial oil stocks will hit operational limits by September, global oil flow will face real failure. Before September, the strait "will reopen no matter what".

Domestic Macro

Cyber regulator strictly manages self-media not marking information sources. Recently, some self-media accounts posted info on current events, etc., without properly marking information sources, misleading public perceptions and harming online ecosystem. Main problems include not marking sources for domestic/international news, public policy, social events, not marking AI-generated content, not tagging fictional stories. Regulator urges platforms to self-inspect, handled over 98,000 violations per law and contract.

Shenzhen new property policy in effect: contract volume for some agents doubled, buyers from other regions entering. April 29, Shenzhen property policy officially implemented, selectively easing purchase limits in three key districts and boosting provident fund loans. Policy came during May Day holiday, positive impact quickly transferred to the primary market.

Overseas Companies

"Explosive earnings" as "sell opportunity", Sandisk, Western Digital shares plunged early Friday, reversed intraday. Sandisk revenue up 97% YoY, data center business tripled QoQ; WD revenue up 45% YoY, guidance exceeded expectations, post-earnings shares dropped 6% and 8%, respectively Thursday. Analysts said after WD up 900% in a year, Sandisk up 3300% since IPO, strong results fully priced in, guidance "lacks surprise", triggering profit-taking. By Friday close, Sandisk reversed and closed up over 8%, new high, WD down about 0.7%.

AI boom exhausts inventory, Apple raises Mac Mini starting price by $200. Apple raised Mac mini desktop starting price from $599 to $799 to address AI-driven inventory shortage and processor supply strain. The price hike actually came via cancelling entry-level config — that config used M4 and 256GB. Mac mini now starts at same chip, but 512GB storage. M4 Pro version still starts at $1399.

Resisting Trump pressure, U.S. oil giants refuse to increase production. Amid oil at $126 and severe energy crisis, ExxonMobil and Chevron resisted White House's calls to boost output. Refused to compromise for short-term crisis, prioritized "free cash flow over capacity expansion". Though Q1 profits fell due to hedging losses, both captured refinery profit margins at record utilization, maximizing capital gains amidst market turmoil.

Apple earnings call: guidance beats, storage will drag margins from Q3 onward, adds $100bn buyback. Apple CEO Cook announced he will step down in September: "No one on this planet I trust more than John Ternes". Cook warned "Q3, storage costs will increasingly impact margins", and expressed "inexpressible excitement" for India market. CFO dropped long-held "net cash neutral" goal, added $100bn buyback.

Sandisk earnings call: secured $42bn long-term orders, high profit margins sustainable, "industry at a turning point, can't think of any losers!" Sandisk call disclosed five multi-year supply deals, minimum contract revenue ~ $42bn, financial guarantees over $11bn, covering over one third of 2027 shipments; also announced $6bn buyback. "Can't think of any losers." CEO said, NAND business shifting from cyclical to recurrent revenue, industry at key turning point, margin now 78.4%, believes margin is sustainable.

Western Digital earnings call: storage demand "step change", CAGR over 25%, orders visible to 2029. WD CEO said AI computation is shifting structurally to inference and agent AI, "every token and prompt" creates unrecoverable persistent data, forming compounding loop "inference creates data, agents generate more data", long-term storage demand CAGR will exceed 25%. Orders visible to 2029, 40TB EPMR drives mass production in H2 2026, HAMR tech certification is ahead of schedule.

Drama! Musk OpenAI trial, Silicon Valley billionaires expose each other like village squabbles. Musk admitted xAI distilled OpenAI models, $38mn delivered less than 4% promised, emotional outbursts six times over three days; Brockman's diary surfaces, talks mission but counts money, brotherly love in Silicon Valley exposed. Next week Altman heads to witness stand, Nadella and other key figures appear, more drama ahead.

AI chipmaker Cerebras IPO targets $4bn raise, valuation ~ $40bn. Media reports that as AI chipmaker and data center operator stocks heat up, California's Cerebras Systems plans to IPO and raise up to $4bn, has over $10bn in subscriptions. Target valuation ~ $40bn, formal IPO promotion may start as soon as next Monday.

Middle East shock raises costs, consumer goods giant Unilever to raise prices. Unilever announces price hike for some products. Expects annual cost inflation €750mn–€900mn, up to €500mn above early year estimates. CFO says will "raise prices multiple times moderately", if inflation persists, hike may reach 2–3%. Hike mainly for household goods, focused on Asia, Africa, Latin America, landing in H2.

Retail stock gets new bombshell, GME plans "snake swallowing elephant" acquisition of eBay, CEO targets $100bn market cap. Citing sources, GameStop is preparing an acquisition offer for eBay, part of CEO Ryan Cohen's ambitious plan to make the retailer an industry giant over $100bn market cap. eBay is several times GME's size. After-hours Friday, eBay shares up over 10%, GME up about 5%.

Today's Major Previews

A-shares closed for Labor Day through May 5.

Eurozone April manufacturing PMI final.

U.S. March durable goods orders final.

Trump sent letter to Congress saying Iran war is over, he has extended ceasefire indefinitely, continues to monitor Middle East.

Trump announces, starting this week, 25% tariff on EU cars and trucks exported to U.S..

<End of Full Text>

Risk Warning & DisclaimerMarkets entail risks; investments require caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not consider an individual's special investment goals, financial situation, or needs. Users should assess whether any opinions, views, or conclusions herein suit their specific circumstances. Investments made based on this, responsibility lies with the individual. ```