Global Highlights This Week: Is Trump Up to Something Again? Earnings Reports of Chinese Concepe Stocks Are Coming
Last week, the three major U.S. stock indices rebounded collectively. The Dow Jones rose 3.41% cumulatively, the S&P 500 gained 5.27%, and the Nasdaq surged 7.15%.
Earlier last week, high-level China-U.S. economic and trade talks reached important consensus, with significant reductions in bilateral tariff levels. Financial markets reacted positively, and the S&P 500 has continued its upward trend since then.
However, on Friday last week, Trump stated that the U.S. might unilaterally set new tariff rates on many trading partners within the next two to three weeks, explaining that the U.S. lacks the ability to reach agreements with all partners through negotiations.
Beyond tariffs, Trump also said he will call Putin on Monday (May 19) this week to discuss ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict and trade issues, followed by a call with Zelensky and exchanges with NATO members.
In a recent post, Trump urged Fed Chair Powell to implement rate cuts as soon as possible. This week, several key Fed officials will speak, including Vice Chair Jefferson and New York Fed President Williams.
S&P Global will release PMI reports for the U.S. and Europe. Data previously released by the University of Michigan showed the U.S. consumer confidence index hit a historic second-low level.
In terms of earnings reports, retail giants such as Home Depot, Target, and Lowe’s, as well as Chinese concept stocks like Pinduoduo, Bilibili, and Baidu, will release financial results.Last week, Walmart reported strong quarterly performance but warned that tariffs and economic volatility would force it to raise prices. Trump responded by urging Walmart to "absorb the tariffs itself."
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang will share the latest advancements in AI and accelerated computing on Monday this week, followed by Google’s annual I/O Developers Conference the next day.
Overview of Important Economic Events This Week:
Monday：Trump will successively hold talks with Putin, Zelensky, and leaders of NATO member states; Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, will share the latest progress and breakthroughs in "AI and Accelerated Computing Technology"; final reading of the eurozone's April annual CPI rate; Federal Reserve Vice Chair Jefferson delivers a speech; New York Fed President Williams delivers a speech; U.S. April Conference Board Leading Economic Index monthly rate.
Tuesday ：Dallas Fed President Logan chairs a panel at the Atlanta Summit; Reserve Bank of Australia announces its interest rate decision; RBA Governor Bullock holds a monetary policy press conference; ECB Governing Council member Wunsch delivers a speech; Google holds its annual I/O Developer Conference.
Wednesday ：St. Louis Fed President Musalem speaks on the economic outlook and monetary policy; Bostic (Federal Reserve) chairs a meeting, with voting members Hammack and Daly delivering keynote speeches; UK April monthly CPI rate; U.S. EIA crude oil inventories for the week ending May 16th.
Thursday ：Richmond Fed President Barkin attends the "Fed Listens" event; preliminary values of the eurozone's May manufacturing/services/composite PMI; European Central Bank releases minutes of its April monetary policy meeting; U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ending May 17th; preliminary values of the U.S. May S&P Global manufacturing/services/composite PMI.
Friday ：New York Fed President Williams delivers a keynote speech at the Monetary Policy Implementation Symposium; Japan's April core annual CPI rate; final reading of Germany's Q1 unadjusted annual GDP rate; U.S. April annualized new home sales data.