ORLANDO, Florida, May 14 (Reuters) - Another day,
another record high for the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and many stock
markets around the world on Thursday, as the Xi-Trump summit in
China and stalemate in the Persian Gulf gave investors no reason
to pause the relentless tech rally.
In my column today, I look at the U.S. bond market. While
the long end of the curve grabs headlines as the 30-year yield
rises above 5%, borrowing costs are also spiking at the short
end. For a heavily indebted Treasury reducing its debt maturity
profile, this is a worry.
If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I
recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets
today.
1. Xi tells Trump that mishandling of Taiwan could lead
to 'dangerous' place
2. EXCLUSIVE-US clears H200 chip sales to 10 China firms
as Nvidia CEO looks for breakthrough
3. US retail sales post third straight monthly gain;
import prices surge
4. Fed may have to hike to defend its credibility: Mike
Dolan
5. Senior UK minister resigns, calls for a leadership
contest to oust PM Starmer
Today's Key Market Moves
* STOCKS: Fresh highs for Nasdaq, S&P 500, Nikkei,
KOSPI, MSCI All Country; 11-year peak for Shanghai Composite;
Europe +0.8%; UK +0.5%.
* SECTORS/SHARES: Cerebras +90% on Nasdaq debut, Cisco
+13%, Ford +7%, Nvidia +4%. Qualcomm -6%, Boeing -5%. Six
sectors in the S&P 500 rise, five fall. Tech +1.9%.
* FX: Biggest decliner globally is GBP. USD index +0.4%
%. USD/JPY back above 158 for first time after intervention.
USD/CNY new 3-year low ~6.78, USD/INR record high.
* BONDS: Yields fall, UK gilt yields as much as 8 bps at
long end, U.S. yields -4 bps. Curves flatten.
* COMMODITIES/METALS: Oil ends flat, silver -5%.
Today's Talking Points
* Bad breadth
Global stocks are roaring to fresh high after fresh high.
What's not to like? Earnings are rising and the market looks
like a well-oiled machine. But under the hood, the engine is not
firing on all cylinders - leadership is extremely narrow.
FTSE Russell analysis shows that nearly 50% of the FTSE
All-World return in April was generated by only 13 stocks (of
4,250) and all AI-related. LPL Financial's Adam Turnquist says
53% of S&P 500 stocks are above their 200-day moving average,
versus 77% average when the index is at a record high.
Unsustainable, right? Maybe. But as Goldman says, narrow breadth
can persist "for months".
* Asia's AI frenzy
With U.S. President Donald Trump in China flanked by many of
the world's most powerful mega-tech executives, Asia's tech
giants are flexing their market and financial muscle too.
Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC on Thursday said it is aggressively
ramping up its capacity, and South Korea's SK Hynix is on the
verge of becoming a $1 trillion company.
These two megacaps and Samsung are at the vanguard of Asia's
AI boom that is attracting huge overseas investor inflows. All
three count the "Mag 7" U.S. tech giants as customers and sell
hardware to Nvidia, the world's most valuable company at the
heart of the global AI boom.
* Keir today, gone tomorrow?
UK health minister Wes Streeting resigned on Thursday and
called for a leadership contest, piling the pressure on Prime
Minister Keir Starmer. Streeting did not trigger a formal
contest, and it's unclear he would stand in one, but Starmer's
grip on the party and power appears to be slipping.
Meanwhile, Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said he would seek
to contest a parliamentary seat that has just become vacant,
potentially paving the way to challenge Starmer. The pound
slumped on Thursday but gilt yields also fell, so no clear 'sell
UK' trade. Watch this space.
What could move markets tomorrow?
* Developments in the Middle East
* Energy market moves
* U.S.-China summit in Beijing between Presidents Donald
Trump and Xi Jinping
* New Zealand manufacturing PMI (April)
* Japan wholesale inflation (April)
* Japan earnings including Mizuho, Mitsubishi UFJ
* Hong Kong GDP (Q1, final)
* U.S. New York Fed manufacturing index (May)
* U.S. industrial production (April)
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