ASX 200 to rise, Fed Meeting and Big Tech earnings in focus

OVERNIGHT MARKETS

• US stocks close higher as investors eye tech earnings, Fed meeting
• Dow climbs more than 100 points, Tesla’s 15% pop pushes Nasdaq to close higher
• Corporate bonds signal ‘clear skies’ for U.S. economy as stocks extend rally
• Gold rises on softer dollar
• European markets close higher as traders look ahead to Fed meeting; Philips up 29%
• Yen jumps against dollar on possible intervention

INTERNATIONAL STOCKS

• Paramount expected to announce CEO departure amid deal talks
• Trump Media shares closed more than 12% higher
• Musk leaves China meeting clearing two hurdles for Tesla's driver assisted feature – stock jumps 15%
• Baidu and Tesla reach deal on mapping for FSD in China
• Boeing taps debt market to raise $10 billion
• BHP's adviser on its $39B Anglo American bid said to be seeking views from some of its shareholders

US EARNINGS PREVIEW

• Amazon earnings are out tomorrow morning (Sydney time), with AWS results firmly in focus after Alphabet and Microsoft reported stronger cloud results than expected last week.
• However, the Street will also be looking at whether AWS is giving up market share as AI offerings seen trailing market leaders GCP and Azure.
• Apple reports on Friday morning (Sydney time). Some analysts are noting the low bar given recent Street cuts to iPhone estimates for 2H on weaker demand, China overhangs.
• However, Apple is also a potential beneficiary of AI tailwind with recent updates around hardware/processors that will bring more AI features to Apple devices.

CENTRAL BANKS

• No Fed rate cuts until 2025, Macquarie says
• Higher neutral rate suggests Fed policy normalization won't drive yields back to ultralow levels
• Yen's sharp rebound from 34-year lows triggers speculation that government had intervened

ECONOMY

• European debt is on the rise again as politics eats away at budget resolve across major economies
• China industrial profits fell in March and slowed gains for the quarter, raising doubts about economic recovery
• Spanish inflation accelerates for the second month following government scrapping of energy aid
• German consumers driving pick-up in economic growth, with service sectors blossoming
• PBOC advises some regional lenders to curtail their ultra-long bond investments to mitigate risks
• China keeps up overcapacity in car production as officials try to boost economic growth, preserve jobs, and expand footprint in EV market

GEOPOLITICS

• Japanese PM's LDP loses three Diet seats to main opposition party in Sunday by-elections
• UK PM Sunak refuses to rule out July election amid record low poll rating; rebels plot to remove him