Overnight US stocks | Unfazed by rising inflationary pressure, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indexes set new historical highs. Alibaba Group Holding Limited Sponsored ADR (BABA.US) surged over 8%.

On Wednesday, the three major indices experienced mixed movements. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 hit new historical highs. The US April Producer Price Index (PPI) surged by 6% year-on-year, marking the largest increase since 2022 and indicating rising inflation pressures in the US. The US Senate approved the appointment of Powell as Chair of the Federal Reserve with 54 votes in favor and 45 votes against. [US Stocks] At the close, the Dow fell by 67.36 points, or 0.14%, to 49693.20 points; the Nasdaq rose by 314.14 points, or 1.20%, to 26402.34 points; the S&P 500 index rose by 43.29 points, or 0.58%, to 7444.25 points. Micron Technology, Inc.(MU.US) rose by over 4%, Alphabet Inc. Class C(GOOG.US) rose by nearly 4%, Tesla, Inc.(TSLA.US) and NVIDIA Corporation(NVDA.US) both rose by over 2%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rose by 3.9%, Baidu Inc Sponsored ADR Class A(BIDU.US) rose by over 7%, Alibaba Group Holding Limited Sponsored ADR(BABA.US) rose by over 8%. [European Stocks] The Germany DAX30 index rose by 173.33 points, or 0.72%, to 24148.00 points; the UK FTSE 100 index rose by 56.91 points, or 0.55%, to 10322.23 points; the France CAC40 index rose by 28.05 points, or 0.35%, to 8007.97 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose by 53.30 points, or 0.92%, to 5861.75 points; the Spain IBEX35 index rose by 75.70 points, or 0.43%, to 17649.30 points; the Italy FTSE MIB index rose by 483.52 points, or 0.99%, to 49474.50 points. [Asian Stocks] The Nikkei 225 index rose by 0.84%, the Korea Composite Stock Price index rose by 2.63%, the India Sensex index saw a slight increase, and the Straits Times index rose by 1.17%. [US Dollar Index] The US Dollar Index, which measures the dollar against six major currencies, rose by 0.23% to close at 98.524 in the currency market. At the close of the New York foreign exchange market, 1 euro was exchanged for 1.1707 US dollars, lower than the previous trading day's 1.1741 US dollars; 1 pound was exchanged for 1.3516 US dollars, lower than the previous trading day's 1.3532 US dollars. 1 US dollar was equal to 157.90 Japanese yen, higher than the previous trading day's 157.59 Japanese yen; 1 US dollar was equal to 0.7823 Swiss francs, higher than the previous trading day's 0.7808 Swiss francs; 1 US dollar was equal to 1.3716 Canadian dollars, higher than the previous trading day's 1.3701 Canadian dollars; 1 US dollar was equal to 9.3279 Swedish kronor, higher than the previous trading day's 9.2926 Swedish kronor. [Cryptocurrency] Bitcoin fell below $80,000, trading at $79,383.2, while Ethereum fell by over 1% to $2,255.23. [Oil] The price of light crude oil futures for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $1.16 to close at $101.02 per barrel, down by 1.14%; the price of Brent crude oil futures for July delivery on the London Stock Exchange fell by $2.14 to close at $105.63 per barrel, down by 1.99%. [Precious Metals] Spot gold closed at $4,688.77 per ounce, and spot silver closed at $87.529 per ounce. [Macro News] US PPI records largest increase since 2022, driven by rising energy costs. Rising energy prices due to the war have led to an increase in transportation costs, pushing US producer price inflation to its fastest pace since 2022. Data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday showed that the Producer Price Index (PPI) rose by 6% year-on-year, exceeding the expectations of all surveyed economists. The month-on-month increase also marked the largest since 2022. The core index, which excludes food and energy, rose by 5.2% year-on-year, also the largest increase in over three years. Ahead of the release of the producer price inflation data, the US reported a significant year-on-year increase in consumer prices. Against the backdrop of continued conflict in the Middle East and fragile ceasefire, as companies seek to pass on the high energy and transportation costs to downstream, other prices for goods and services also face upward pressure. The PPI report shows that commodity prices, including fuel, saw the largest increase since 2022. Among them, energy costs rose by 7.8% in April, a more significant increase than the previous month. Meanwhile, service costs rose by 1.2%, the largest increase in four years. Among them, the prices of transportation and warehousing services, which are more sensitive to conflict, rose by 5%, mainly driven by the increase in freight truck transportation costs and higher fuel retailer profit margins. The US Senate approves Kevin Warsh as Chair of the Federal Reserve. The US Senate confirmed Warsh as Chair of the Federal Reserve with 54 votes in favor and 45 votes against. The Senate had previously approved Warsh's appointment as a Federal Reserve Board member for a term of 14 years. With the chair's appointment on the 13th receiving approval, Warsh will officially take office after completing the White House's related signing procedures, succeeding the current Chair Powell whose term ends this Friday, May 15th. However, Powell is expected to continue serving as a Federal Reserve Board member. This vote was the most severe partisan divide in history, as only one Democratic Senator, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, joined the Republican majority in voting in favor. Fed survey: By 2025, Americans are highly concerned about rising prices. According to the annual Fed survey, the vast majority of Americans still express concerns about high prices by 2025, while anxieties about the job market are on the rise. Against the backdrop of near-stagnant job growth last year, 42% of adults said that "finding a job or retaining a job" caused varying levels of concern, higher than 37% in 2024. Meanwhile, about nine in ten respondents expressed concerns about rising prices. The survey was conducted in October last year before the outbreak of the Iran war, yet affordability issues in 2025 were already widespread and expected to be a significant issue in the upcoming midterm elections. Fed's Collins: Patience on rising inflation decreasing, rates may need to remain high for longer. Fed's Collins said on Wednesday that she expects rates to remain stable for some time and believes that in certain scenarios, further tightening may be necessary to ensure inflation returns to the 2% target. She noted that traditional monetary policy usually "overlooks" sudden supply shocks, such as increases in oil prices. However, considering that inflation has been above the target level for over five years, she believes that patience in suppressing price increases is decreasing. Collins stated that the current moderately tight monetary policy may need to continue for some time. She said, "The shocks have slightly raised the downside risks to economic activity, while the risks of inflation rising have further increased." She also stated that if inflation drops, the Fed may still consider cutting rates later this year. Collins added that, however, if the conflict continues and leads to further price increases, "I can imagine a scenario where tighter policy is needed to ensure inflation returns to 2% in a reasonable time. " Fed megaphone" discusses the Fed Mission Reform Bill: The new bill will focus on anti-inflation." Fed megaphone" Nick Timiraos wrote that the House Financial Services Committee is reviewing a bill that aims to amend the Federal Reserve Act, removing the Fed's dual mandate and focusing solely on price stability. The text of the bill reads as follows: Revise section 2A of the Federal Reserve Act (U.S. Code Title 12, sec. 225a) to strike "maximize employment, stabilize prices" and insert "stabilize prices". Timiraos pointed out that it is worth considering if this bill had been passed into law last year, whether the Fed would still have chosen to cut rates. [Stock News] Microsoft Corporation seeks to acquire AI company to reduce dependence on OpenAI. According to reports, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) is seeking to acquire an artificial intelligence startup to reduce its reliance on the former critical partner, OpenAI. The potential acquisition will help Microsoft Corporation increase its AI talent pool and advance its goal of developing an advanced AI model by next year. Earlier this spring, Microsoft Corporation had considered acquiring the code-generation startup Cursor, but internal assessments deemed the deal difficult to pass regulatory scrutiny due to Microsoft Corporation's ownership of GitHub Copilot, ultimately leading to the abandonment of the plan. Microsoft Corporation is currently in negotiations with Inception, a small startup founded by a Stanford University team, specializing in developing large language models using a technology called "diffusion". Microsoft Corporation's venture capital fund, M12, participated in Inception's $50 million seed round at the end of 2025. Microsoft Corporation faces strong competition from other tech giants in the bidding process, particularly SpaceX under Musk. Insiders state that SpaceX has also reached out to Inception. Cisco Systems, Inc. Q4 earnings guidance exceeds expectations, announces restructuring plan and layoffs. The world's largest network equipment manufacturer, Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO.US), provided fourth-quarter sales forecasts that exceeded analyst expectations, indicating that the construction of artificial intelligence infrastructure is driving growth in demand for network equipment. The company, in its third-quarter earnings report released on Wednesday, stated that it expects fourth-quarter revenue for the period ending in July to be in the range of $16.7 billion to $16.9 billion, with earnings per share estimated at approximately $1.16 to $1.18. Analysts had previously forecast revenue of $15.8 billion and earnings per share of $1.07. The company also announced a restructuring plan, stating that this move would enable Cisco Systems, Inc. to increase investments in artificial intelligence and other growth opportunities. The plan will result in up to $1 billion in severance costs and other one-time expenses. The company stated that the layoffs would affect less than 4,000 positions, representing less than 5% of the total workforce. Following the release of the earnings report, Cisco Systems, Inc. stock price rose by over 13% in after-hours trading, bringing its year-to-date cumulative increase to 32%.