Market Daily

Equity Market Updates

JD.com (9618 HK)

US-listed shares of JD.com traded higher yesterday after it reported Q1 results that topped market estimates, featuring record profitability for its retail business. Revenue for the quarter stood at RMB315.7bln vs. RMB311.4bln expected, while adjusted net income was at RMB7.4bln vs. RMB5.3bln expected.

MARKET CONSENSUS: 33 BUYS, 1 SELL, AVERAGE TP HKD145.42

Bayer (BAYN GR)

Shares of Bayer jumped +3.7% on Tuesday after it posted better-than-expected profit in Q1, underpinned by robust performance in its crop science unit. Looking ahead, the company also maintained its full-year outlook on a currency-adjusted basis, stating that the conflict in the Middle East doesn’t have any material impact as things stand.

MARKET CONSENSUS: 15 BUYS, 6 HOLDS, AVERAGE TP EUR48.42

Thyssenkrupp (TKA GR)

Thyssenkrupp on Tuesday reported mixed FY2Q results, featuring a bottom-line miss with adjusted EPS at EUR0.002 vs. EUR0.02 expected, while revenue stood at EUR8.4bln vs. EUR8.2bln expected. Additionally, the company also struck a more cautious note on sales due to heightened geopolitical uncertainty and its impact on international markets. Nevertheless, key profit and cash flow targets were maintained.

MARKET CONSENSUS: 7 BUYS, 5 HOLDS, 1 SELL, AVERAGE TP EUR12.23

Alphabet (GOOGL US)

Alphabet’s Google said on Tuesday that it has been in discussions with SpaceX and others regarding future launches for future launches of its Project Suncatcher, an orbital data centre project. The project is a research effort to network solar-powered satellites equipped with its Tensor Processing Units into an orbital AI cloud.

MARKET CONSENSUS: 67 BUYS, 8 HOLDS, AVERAGE TP USD425.01

Earnings Announcements

Global Indices Changes (%)

Fixed Income Market Updates

European Bank Coco (AT1)

The European AT1 market saw a new issuance from HSBC, which launched a USD-denominated perpetual bond with a non-call period of 7 years. While fast-money investors took profits early, retail demand remained steady and helped to stabilize prices. The broader AT1 segment remains active, but the new supply pipeline is keeping spreads from tightening further. We expect demand for coco to stay robust, especially as investors seek attractive carry in a low-rate environment.

Asia Investment Grade (IG)

The Asia IG market showed resilience today, with spreads tightening slightly despite a weaker macro backdrop. In China, technology bonds like Alibaba and Meituan saw better buying, particularly in the 5-to-10-year maturity range, while financial institutions faced some profit-taking. Meanwhile, Southeast Asia remained quiet, with Singapore and Thailand seeing limited activity, though demand for short-dated bonds persisted. We anticipate continued interest in high-quality issuers, especially as investors look for stability amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.

Asia High Yield (HY)

The Asia HY market faced a challenging session, with bonds trading lower by 0.125 to 0.375 points due to persistent selling from investors. While China HY held up relatively better, longer-dated bonds in Indonesia underperformed as rising rates weighed on sentiment. Selective buying was observed in situational plays, but overall risk appetite remained subdued. We expect this cautious tone to continue in the medium term. 

Forex Market Updates

USD

The US Dollar strengthened against a basket of its major peers on Wednesday as talks to end the war in the Middle East showed no signs of progress, with US President Trump calling Iran’s latest demands “garbage” and describing the ceasefire as being “on life support” after the latest back and forth on a proposal to end the war made clear the two sides were still far apart on a number of issues. Analysts say that currency markets look set to stay risk-off as the impasse drags on, which should help to “put a floor under the Dollar” for the time being. On the data front, US consumer inflation increased further in April, with the annual rate posting its largest gain in three years, reinforcing the view that the Fed is poised to keep interest rates on hold in the near term and that no rate cuts are likely for the rest of 2026. Moving forward, markets will be tuned in to any headlines from the highly anticipated Trump-Xi summit in China starting tomorrow.

The Dollar Index should remain supported around 97.60 in the near term.

JPY

The Japanese Yen weakened against the USD yesterday although a rumoured “rate check”, which led to a 100-pip selloff in USDJPY that was unwound soon after, kept traders on edge. US Treasury Bessent said that both the US and Japan believe that excessive volatility in the currency market is undesirable, comments that have been interpreted as offering some support to Tokyo’s recent round of intervention to prop up the Yen. Bessent added that he was confident that BoJ Governor Ueda will successfully guide monetary policy to avoid being behind the curve in combatting inflation. Earlier, Japanese Finance Minister Katayama said that she and Bessent had reaffirmed “constant and robust” coordination efforts in tackling sharp and undesirable exchange rate moves, including intervention. Elsewhere, minutes from the April BoJ meeting revealed that some policymakers argued for raising rates soon, highlighting a growing hawkish shift among rate-setters as the ongoing energy supply shock sharpened pressure for near term policy tightening.

Price action in USDJPY is likely to be capped moving forward, with the 158.00 handle eyed as a potential intervention level.

GBP

The British Pound traded on the back foot on Tuesday as UK PM Starmer’s future remained in doubt after the Labour Party’s big losses in last week’s local elections. Long-dated UK borrowing costs, which are more sensitive to fiscal risks, surged to their highest since 1998 as markets braced for a potential change of leadership in Westminster that could see Starmer replaced by an even more left-wing PM who could push for more government spending at a time when Britain’s finances are already stretched. UK borrowing costs remain the highest among the G7 advanced economies and have risen the most since the Iran war, so a further rise will add to the pressure on the country's public finances. In a cabinet speech yesterday, Starmer, however, defied calls to resign, saying that the Labour Party’s process for challenging a leader had not been triggered and that he would “get on with governing”, while warning of chaos and instability if he were to be ousted.

UK political uncertainty has Sterling poised for more near term weakness, with 1.3450 the next level of support.

XAU

Gold prices saw modest losses yesterday as fading hopes for an Iran peace deal pushed oil prices higher, while strong US CPI figures added to concerns about inflation and the prospect of higher global interest rates. Ahead of a high-stakes US-China summit in Beijing, Trump said that he does not think he will need China's help to end the war with Iran, even as hopes for a lasting peace deal dwindled and Tehran tightened its grip over the Strait of Hormuz. The Trump administration said on Tuesday that senior US and Chinese officials had agreed last month that no country should be able to charge tolls on traffic through the region, in an effort to project consensus on the issue ahead of the summit. Nevertheless, with US and Iran still at a deadlock, the continued closure of the critical waterway saw brent crude oil futures extending gains to more than $107 a barrel overnight. Elsewhere, silver prices jumped on expectations of a widening deficit as demand for physical silver grows.

With little clarity over the US-Iran impasse in the Middle East, bullion prices should continue to consolidate between $4,500 and $4,900 for the time being.

Please read carefully the disclaimer here:

Asia Disclaimer: 
https://wealthmanagement.bnpparibas/asia/en/disclaimer1.html

Europe Disclaimer: 
https://wealthmanagement.bnpparibas/ch/en/disclaimer.html