Overnight US stocks | The three major indices rose, Intel Corporation (INTC.US) increased by 7%, and spot gold re-surpassed $4500.

On Wednesday, the three major indexes rose. The market is paying attention to the latest developments in the Middle East situation. The White House has stated that peace talks with Iran are still ongoing, but Tehran has openly rejected the US proposal and presented conditions for ending the conflict. US StocksAs of the close, the Dow rose 305.43 points, or 0.66%, to 46429.49; the Nasdaq rose 167.93 points, or 0.77%, to 21929.83; and the S&P 500 rose 35.53 points, or 0.54%, to 6591.90. PDD Holdings Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A (PDD.US) rose over 4%, Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) and NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) rose 2%, AMD (AMD.US) and Intel Corporation (INTC.US) rose 7%. The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index rose 1.85%, JD.com, Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A (JD.US) rose 8%, Alibaba Group Holding Limited Sponsored ADR (BABA.US) rose 3.5%. European StocksThe German DAX30 index rose 337.33 points, or 1.49%, to 22977.22; the UK FTSE 100 index rose 146.91 points, or 1.47%, to 10112.07; the French CAC40 index rose 102.63 points, or 1.33%, to 7846.55; the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 71.81 points, or 1.29%, to 5653.10; the Spanish IBEX35 index rose 276.25 points, or 1.63%, to 17186.45; and the Italian FTSE MIB index rose 671.97 points, or 1.55%, to 44041.50. CryptocurrencyBitcoin rose over 1% to $71,079, and Ethereum rose 0.96% to $2,166.16. K33 Research Director Vetle Lunde pointed out that in recent weeks, the price of Bitcoin has mainly fluctuated between $60,000 and $75,000, indicating that the trading volume of exchange-traded products and the behavior of long-term holders are stabilizing. He described this price movement as "usually associated with market bottoms," and implied that the price range above $70,000 may be attractive to medium to long-term investors. Lunde stated that since late February, Bitcoin ETF flows have slightly turned positive, indicating that the sell-off since reaching historical highs in October may be coming to an end. He said that previous outflows of funds were due to profit-taking when the Bitcoin price fell below investors' cost basis, creating a supply-demand feedback loop. However, as the price dropped, the selling motivation weakened, and demand began to stabilize. Crude OilAt the close of the day, the price of light crude oil futures for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $2.03 to $90.32 per barrel, a decrease of 2.2%; and the price of Brent crude oil futures for May delivery in London fell by $2.27 to $102.22 per barrel, a decrease of 2.17%. US Dollar IndexThe US dollar index against six major currencies rose 0.18% to 99.614 at the end of the forex market. At the end of the New York forex market, 1 euro exchanged for $1.1578, higher than the previous trading day's $1.1569; 1 pound exchanged for $1.3382, higher than the previous trading day's $1.3366. 1 US dollar exchanged for 159.28 Japanese yen, higher than the previous trading day's 159.14 Japanese yen; 1 US dollar exchanged for 0.7910 Swiss francs, lower than the previous trading day's 0.7918 Swiss francs; 1 US dollar exchanged for 1.3808 Canadian dollars, higher than the previous trading day's 1.3783 Canadian dollars; 1 US dollar exchanged for 9.3320 Swedish krona, lower than the previous trading day's 9.3669 Swedish krona. MetalsSpot gold is back above $4500 per ounce; spot silver is at $71.262. Macro News The US government exempts summer gasoline sales restrictions in response to soaring oil prices. The US government has exempted summer gasoline sales restrictions in an effort to alleviate the surging oil prices caused by the Iran war. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an emergency waiver to lift restrictions on the sale of E15 blended gasoline containing 15% ethanol. To reduce air pollution, authorities originally restricted the sale of E15 gasoline from June to September. The EPA also issued a waiver to remove all federal-level obstacles to the sale of E10 gasoline, a fuel mixture containing 10% ethanol, which will take effect on May 1st. Senate Republicans reject Democrats' latest proposal to end the Homeland Security shutdown. Senate Republicans have rejected the latest proposal from Democrats to end the long-standing Homeland Security shutdown, which has severely disrupted air travel. Majority Leader John Thune said of the proposal, "It's not even close to being real." He said the proposal is a list of nine demands, including demands to stop law enforcement officers from using masks and to start using search warrants. Democrats have not publicly disclosed the details of their proposal, but they have previously called for enhanced training for immigration and customs enforcement officers, expanded use of body cameras, and the use of badges that clearly indicate the names of law enforcement officers. Thune stated that if funding agreements do not provide funds for these law enforcement activities at the same time, he will not accept any policy adjustments to immigration enforcement. The White House plans to discuss a ceasefire plan in Pakistan this weekend. Two senior US government officials revealed to the media on the 25th that the US is trying to arrange a meeting this weekend in Pakistan to discuss an "exit plan" to end the US-Iran conflict. According to current plans, US Vice President Pence will travel to Pakistan, and other high-ranking government officials may accompany him. However, the specific time, location, and list of attendees for this trip are still uncertain. The meeting could also take place in Turkey. The report did not mention whether Iran may send representatives to participate in ceasefire negotiations. Stock News Strategy (MSTR.US) to launch exclusive Bitcoin security plan. Strategy will launch an exclusive Bitcoin security plan to collaborate with global internet security, cryptocurrency, and Bitcoin experts to strengthen the security, risk resilience, and credibility of the Bitcoin network. The company is recruiting a Bitcoin Security Director to spearhead this effort, who will serve as an authoritative expert within the company on protocols, cryptography, and asset custody, and as a key industry liaison. This position will comprehensively build Strategy's Bitcoin security system, covering threat modeling, key management, multi-signature custody design, and wallet architecture, focusing on institutional-level risk resilience and asset recoverability. Strategy stated that the plan will bring together exchanges, custodians, asset management companies, service providers, and core developers to collectively address emerging threats, security vulnerabilities, and develop industry best practices. The plan will also cover internal training, executive consulting, and ongoing industry collaboration, driving scalability to enhance Bitcoin security levels. Meta (META.US) and Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG.US, GOOGL.US) held responsible in social media addiction case. A US jury has found that Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Alphabet Inc. Class C are liable and must pay damages to a 20-year-old woman; the woman alleged that she became addicted to the social media platforms of these two companies, leading to a mental health crisis. The jury determined that Meta must pay at least $2.1 million in compensation for Kaley's losses, including treatment costs; and Alphabet Inc. Class C must pay at least $900,000. The jury will further hear arguments to determine whether punitive damages should be awarded against these companies. This is the first case of its kind to go to trial. This trial is seen as a crucial test for novel legal assertions behind a large number of lawsuits filed against Meta, Alphabet Inc. Class C, and Snap Inc. over the past three years. These lawsuits allege that it is the platform design itself, rather than its content, that harms young people. Two other so-called bellwether cases are scheduled to be tried in California this year. If these companies lose the cases, it may prompt them to engage in settlement negotiations. CrowdStrike (CRWD.US) expands strategic cooperation with Intel Corporation (INTC.US) to protect the new generation of AI PCs. According to reports, at the 2026 RSA Security Conference, CrowdStrike announced an expanded strategic partnership with Intel Corporation to optimize the Falcon platform for Intel Corporation's AI PCs, helping enterprises address the threats posed by the decentralization of AI computing terminals and protect sensitive data. AI PCs allow AI assistants to directly process sensitive data on devices, expanding the attack surface and bringing new risks. The collaboration combines the capabilities of the Falcon platform with Intel Corporation's CPU, GPU, and NPU device-side AI acceleration to achieve real-time threat detection and data protection of AI workflows. Core advantages include protecting sensitive data in AI workflows, hardware-accelerated threat interception, unified correlation of threat behaviors, enhancing enterprise device resilience and recoverability. Executives from both sides stated that this collaboration will synchronize security protection with AI computing, not affecting device performance, and accelerating the implementation of AI security at the endpoint.