OPENING CALL

Stock futures pointed to a higher open amid hopes of easing trade tensions.

Trump is set to outline a deal with the U.K. later today, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will travel to China to discuss trade.

Investors will also be tuning into a Bank of England meeting, in which the central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept rates on hold, while Chair Jerome Powell struck a more hawkish tone.

Stocks to Watch

Alphabet was up 2%.

AppLovin surged 15% after earnings beat views.

Arm Holdings fell 10% after issuing a disappointing outlook.

Carvana shares gaines 4.2% on higher earnings.

Cleveland-Cliffs was down 7.7% due to a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss.

Fortinet declined 8.9% on a revenue forecast for the second quarter that missed expectations.

IonQ rose 5.4% after revenue beat expectations.

Nvidia jumped 1.8% after the Commerce Department said it doesn't intend to implement artificial-intelligence processor restrictions.

Shopify rose 3.2% ahead of first-quarter earnings.

Zillow was down 4.1% on softer-than-expected second-quarter guidance.

Economic Insight

The risks are tilted toward delayed rate cuts by the Fed this year, especially if inflation expectations remain elevated and the labor market stays resilient for longer than expected, Barclays said.

"We think the FOMC will want to maintain a policy stance that remains restrictive so as to ultimately bring inflation back to the 2% target, but to avoid becoming increasingly restrictive as the economy and the labor market deteriorate," it said.

Barclays reiterated its baseline expectation for two 25bp cuts this year, in July and September, and two more reductions in 2026.

Watch For:

Preliminary Productivity and Costs, Weekly Jobless Claims

Today's Top Headlines/Must Reads:

- The 'Narco-Subs' Helping to Flood Europe With Cocaine

- The Bubble Blasters and Other Chinese Goods That Are Paralyzed by Trade Chaos

- Trump's Threats Push Greenlanders Closer to Denmark

MARKET WRAPS

Forex:

The dollar rose, triggered by Powell's hawkish tone.

Sterling rose against the euro after reports the trade deal, and ahead of the BOE's rate decision.

The currency could rally further if the central bank reiterates a gradual approach to interest-rate cuts, ING said.

The market was pricing in a 96% chance of a 25 basis-point cut, according to LSEG.

Bonds:

Treasury yields rose after the Fed meeting.

The Treasury's $25 billion auction of new 30-year bonds will be a key test Thursday, Commerzbank said.

Treasurys could face further pressure ahead from a potential large fiscal package being approved before the U.S. Congress leaves for its summer recess, T. Rowe Price said.

In addition to higher inflation, this would be unfavorable for Treasurys.

T. Rowe Price expects the 10-year yield to reach 6% in the next 12-18 months.

Energy:

Oil prices ticked higher supported by trade optimism.

However, enthusiasm around tariff developments was tempered by demand concerns after the Fed warned of rising economic risks, ING said.

"This boosted the USD, which added to headwinds facing the broader commodity markets."

Metals:

Gold futures fell on a stronger dollar, with the market shiting to a risk-on mood, ANZ said.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

Toyota Expects U.S. Tariffs, Higher Material Costs to Dent Profit

Toyota Motor projected lower annual profit after reporting a drop in fourth-quarter earnings, expecting U.S. tariffs and higher material costs to cut into its bottom line.

The Japanese carmaker said Thursday that net profit fell 33% from a year earlier to 664.6 billion yen, equivalent to $4.62 billion, for the three months ended March. That beat the estimate of Yen587.4 billion in a poll of analysts by data provider Visible Alpha.

Bud Brewer AB InBev's Profit Soars Ahead of Expectations

Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev's first-quarter net profit soared ahead of market expectations as lower costs helped offset a decline in sales volumes.

The world's largest brewer-which houses the Stella Artois and Budweiser brands among its portfolio-on Thursday said net profit for the quarter jumped $2.15 billion from $1.09 billion a year earlier, significantly ahead of market expectations of $1.66 billion, according to consensus estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

Nintendo Expects Higher Annual Profit on Switch 2 Sales

Nintendo projected higher annual profit even as earnings fell in the previous year, betting on solid sales of the long-awaited Switch 2 console that will go on sale next month.

The Japanese videogame maker behind Super Mario and Pokémon games said Thursday that net profit declined 43% to 278.81 billion yen, equivalent to $1.94 billion, for the fiscal year ended March.

Maersk Backs Guidance Despite Cautioning on Container Demand

A.P. Moller-Maersk backed full-year guidance despite moderating expectations around global container demand this year as macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty increase.

The Danish shipping giant said its main shipping business benefited from a 13% increase in freight revenue in the first quarter, with a 2.5% increase in freight rates on the year and stable volumes.

U.S. to Overhaul Curbs on AI Chip Exports After Industry Backlash

The Trump administration plans to overhaul controversial regulations that would limit how many artificial-intelligence chips individual countries can buy, giving companies such as Nvidia a potential reprieve from tight export controls.

The Commerce Department plans to replace the rule, which imposed caps on how many chips could go to countries such as India, Switzerland, Mexico and Israel, a spokeswoman said. "The Biden AI rule is overly complex, overly bureaucratic and would stymie American innovation," she said.

Why the Fed Isn't Ready to Join Other Central Banks in Cutting Rates

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell played down any impressions Wednesday that the central bank was looking ahead to cushion economic weakness from President Trump's tariffs by cutting rates.

At a news conference, he used some version of the word "wait" 22 times to underscore how the Fed isn't in a rush. "The costs of waiting to see further are fairly low, we think, so that's what we're doing," Powell said.

Shippers Are Skeptical of Trump's Truce With the Houthis

Shippers aren't yet confident enough to return to routes through the Red Sea, despite a tentative cease-fire deal between the U.S. and Yemen's Houthi militia.

The top five container-shipping companies said they were assessing the deal announced Tuesday by President Trump but had no immediate plans to return to the area where the Houthis began targeting merchant ships in late 2023 in response to the war in the Gaza Strip.

Republicans Appear Reluctant to Follow Trump on Private-Equity Tax Rate

Wall Street lobbyists might have secured enough backing to preserve a tax provision for fund managers-the carried-interest treatment-that is under threat in the Republican-led tax negotiations.

The main wild card is how much influence President Trump, who wants to end carried interest, will wield over the bill, a draft of which Congress is expected to present in the coming weeks.

Write to don.forbes@wsj.com

TODAY IN CANADA

Earnings:

Alaris Eqty Ptrns 1Q

Altus Grp Limited 1Q

BCE Inc. 1Q

Brookfield Corp 1Q

Cnd Ntrl Rsrces 1Q

Canadian Tire 1Q

Canadian Tire 1Q

Canfor Corp 1Q

Cnfor Pulp Pdcts1Q

Cardinal Energy 1Q

Cascades Inc. 1Q

Cenovus Energy 1Q

CES Energy 1Q

CI Fincl Corp. 1Q

Cipher Pharma 1Q

Curaleaf Hldgs 1Q

Definity Fncl. 1Q

Diversified Rylty. 1Q

Dman Bldg Mtrls 1Q

ECN Capital 1Q

Emera Incorp 1Q

Enerflex Ltd. 1Q

Enterprise Grp 1Q

Eupraxia Pharm 1Q

Fennec Pharma 1Q

Foran Mining 1Q

Franco-Nevada 1Q

Guardian Cap 1Q

HLS Therap. 1Q

Hut 8 Corp. 1Q

Hydro One Limited 1Q

IGM Fincl Inc. 1Q

Interfor Corp 1Q

Jamson Wllnss 1Q

Knight Therap. 1Q

Lassonde Indus 1Q

Leon's Furniture 1Q

Lundin Gold Inc. 1Q

Maple Leaf Fds !Q

MDA Space Ltd Q

NFI Grp Inc. 1Q

Orezone Gold 1Q

Pembina Pipeline 1Q

Profound Med 1Q

Quebecor Inc.1Q

Quebecor Inc. 1Q

Rest. Brands 1Q

Sangoma Tech 3Q

Shopify Inc. 1Q

Skeena Resrces 1Q

Sun Life Fncl. 1Q

Sylogist Ltd. 1Q

TerrAscend 1Q

Tidewater Mdstrm 1Q

Tidewater Rnwbls 1Q

Vitalhub Corp. 1Q

Whton Prcs Mtls 1Q

Economic Indicators $(ET)$:

Stocks of Canadian grain at March 31

Bank of Canada Financial Stability Report

Stocks to Watch:

AirBoss 1Q Loss/Shr 2c; 1Q Sales $105.1M; Expects Further Uncertainty to Persist in Coming Quarters; Significant Portion of Products Made by Company in Canada Are Sold Into the U.S.

Allied Gold 1Q EPS 4c; 1Q Rev $346.4M

AgriForce Chief Operating Officer Barrett Mooney Steps Down

Aris Mining 1Q EPS 16c

Athabasca Oil 1Q EPS 14c

B2Gold 1Q EPS 4c; 1Q Rev $532.1M

Baylin Technologies 1Q Rev C$18.9M; Macro-economic Environment in 2025 Remains a Concern, Principally Due to High Level of Uncertainty Concerning Impacts of US Tariffs; Expects Embedded Antenna and Satcom Business Lines to Deliver Lower Rev Than 2024 Due to Uncertainty Over Effect of Tariffs, Customer Delays; Tariffs Could Also Affect Exchange Rates and Disrupt Supply Chains on Which the Co Relies in Producing Products; Expects Rev From Wireless Infrastructure Business Line Will Further Grow in 2025 but With Higher Tariff Costs Resulting in Combined Fincl Performance Comparable to 2024; Business Is Being Significantly Affected by Uncertainty Over Timing, Level, Duration and Extent of US Tariffs

BSR REIT 1Q Loss $40.8M; 1Q Rev $43.5M

Calibre Mining 1Q EPS 2c; 1Q Rev $202.6M

(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

May 08, 2025 06:04 ET (10:04 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.