OPENING CALL

Stock futures rose as investors welcomed tentative signs of easing tensions with China.

China said Friday it was mulling a halt to the trade war , but only if the U.S. considered canceling unilateral tariffs.

Jobs data, due at 0830 ET, will be the first to incorporate the impact of Trump's tariff rollout on April 2.

Economists expect 133,000 additional jobs, down from 228,000 in March. The unemployment rate is expected to remain flat at 4.2%.

Stocks to Watch

Airbnb tumbled 4.4% after noting softer results in the U.S.

Amazon.com was down 2.2% as revenue for Amazon Web Services missed views.

Amgen rose 2% after earnings beat expectations.

Apple fell 3% after revenue in Greater China, and services revenue, came in below estimates.

Atlassian fell 16% on guidance that missed views.

Block sank 22% after missing expectations and cutting guidance.

MicroStrategy rose 1.3% on in-line results.

Reddit jumped 6% after results topped views.

U.S.-listed shares in Shell rose 3.2% after a better-than-expected first quarter.

Economic Insight

The U.S. likely has no leverage over China on tariff negotiations, Jefferies said.

Beijing has made it clear that it won't cut tariffs unless the U.S. makes the first move, the brokerage noted.

Trump has tried to isolate China by negotiating trade deals with its allies first, but countries will unlikely agree terms that threaten their trading relationships with China, as China is now a more important trading partner than the U.S. for many, it said.

Market Insight

The Magnificent 7 was showing signs of fragmentation in the latest earnings season, XTB said.

Microsoft and Meta Platforms reported strong results that fueled large gains in their stock, while caution on tariffs from Apple and Amazon.com weighed on their shares.

Watch For:

Employment Report for April; earnings from Chevron and Exxon Mobil

Today's Top Headlines/Must Reads:

- Trade War Exposes China's Dependence on U.S. for Auto Chips

- The Potent Powder and 'Narco-Subs' Driving Cocaine's Global Surge

- U.S., Ukraine Minerals Deal Seeks to Smooth Relations and Aid

MARKET WRAPS

Forex:

The dollar fell awaiting the key April jobs data, with concern that figures could reveal a weak jobs market amid tariff uncertainty.

The euro rose after eurozone inflation data exceeded expectations.

The market continued to price in 60 basis points of further interest-rate cuts for the ECB by year-end, LSEG data showed.

However, the currency's recent pullback against the dollar could extend further following a return to more normal conditions in U.S. asset markets, ING said.

Bonds:

Treasury yields fell ahead of jobs data, reversing Thursday's rise.

Yields on eurozone bonds rose following the release of the inflation data.

Energy:

Oil prices ticked higher, supported by renewed trade negociation hopes and Trump's sanction threats against Iran.

Trump said any country or entity buying Iranian oil would be immediately subject to secondary sanctions.

Still, lingering worries about soft demand and an oversupplied market continue to weigh on sentiment.

"All eyes are now on the upcoming OPEC+ meeting for clearer signals on future production policy and market direction," Pepperstone said.

Metals:

Gold futures rose on a slightly weaker dollar, recouping some ground lost over the course of the week.

Dipping as low as $3,200 an ounce would make an attractive price for investors to start purchasing the metal, Pepperstone said.

The bullish case for gold is still firmly intact, given the volatility of Trump's administration and a slowing economy, it added.

Copper rose amid market tightness as the delayed effect of diverting metal to the U.S. ahead of tariffs filters through, Morgan Stanley said.

However, downside demand risks are looming in the second half of the year, it added, noting a deteriorating global economic backdrop, with Chinese manufacturing figures for April already showing slumping output.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

Equinor Sells Stake in Brazil's Peregrino Oil Field for $3.5 Billion

Norwegian energy major Equinor is selling a 60% stake in a Brazilian oil field for about $3.50 billion, part of its effort to "high-grade" its international portfolio.

Equinor's Brazilian subsidiary has signed an agreement to sell its interest in the Peregrino field to Prio Tigris, a unit of PRIO SA, Brazil's largest independent oil-and-gas firm, the company said Friday.

NatWest Narrows Guidance After Profit Beat

NatWest expects income and returns to hit the upper end of guidance this year after loan growth and structural hedges lifted the high-street bank's earnings above market views.

The British lender said Friday that it now forecasts total income excluding notable items for 2025 to be closer to 15.7 billion pounds ($20.85 billion) than to 15.2 billion pounds as loan growth and structural hedges continue to mitigate the impact of interest-rate cuts by the Bank of England.

Middle-Income Consumers Feel Pinched. That's Bad for Some of America's Best Known Brands.

Middle-class and lower-income Americans are in belt-tightening mode.

Plunging consumer confidence is pummeling the financial results of companies that cater to middle-income households, from McDonald's to General Motors.

Asia Markets Rise on U.S. Tech Earnings, Signs of Easing U.S.-China Tensions

Asian markets advanced broadly on Friday, lifted by strong U.S. tech earnings and tentative signs of easing U.S.-China trade tensions.

Meta reported robust sales and steady growth guidance, while Microsoft said corporate clients aren't cutting technology spending yet, easing fears that tariffs could hit the Magnificent Seven.

EU Could Offer to Buy $56 Billion of U.S. Products to End Trade War, Top Negotiator Says

Europe can resolve its trade dispute with the U.S. by purchasing 50 billion euros' worth of American goods like gas and soybeans, the EU's top trade negotiator said.

The EU won't accept a baseline 10% U.S. tariff on European imports as a long-term solution to the trade issue, commissioner Maros Sefcovic told the Financial Times in an interview published late Thursday. Instead, the bloc could look at addressing U.S. complaints by buying more U.S. goods as a means of flattening out the trade imbalance between the two economies, Sefcovic said. The commissioner said his team is making progress with his counterparts in Washington toward a deal.

Trump to Propose Slashing $163 Billion in Government Programs in Budget Blueprint

WASHINGTON-President Trump is expected to propose far-reaching cuts to federal environmental, renewable energy, education and foreign-aid programs in a budget blueprint that slashes nondefense discretionary spending by more than $160 billion, according to administration officials.

The fiscal 2026 budget proposal, which the White House is planning to release on Friday, is a largely symbolic wish list that lays out the president's spending and political priorities. Congress, which Republicans control by narrow majorities in both chambers, will spend months debating which elements of the proposed plan should be turned into law.

Forget GDP. It's the Jobs Report That Matters.

The first-quarter decline in economic output tells us almost nothing about the economy's actual performance which, through March, was actually fine.

It tells us even less about the broader impact of President Trump's tariffs, federal cutbacks and immigration crackdown. For that, we'll have to await April data, starting with jobs and unemployment to be released Friday.

Trump Issues Order to Defund U.S. Public Media, Including PBS and NPR

President Trump issued an executive order Thursday night ending federal funding of the public media, including PBS and National Public Radio.

In his order, Trump said "neither entity presents a fair, accurate or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens."

Europe Is Racing to Build Its Own Version of the U.S. Military-Industrial Complex

America's vast military-industrial complex has many critics. For Europe, it is now something to aspire to.

This week, Germany asked the European Union to invoke an emergency clause exempting defense investment from spending rules, as part of the bloc's five-year rearmament plan. Global defense expenditure experienced the highest year-over-year rise since at least the end of the Cold War in 2024, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data showed this week, with Europe as the main contributor. Analysts estimate NATO members could add EUR700 billion ($798 billion) to EUR2 trillion in extra military spending by 2030.

Deadly Attacks on Syria's Small Druze Community Are Part of a Bigger Fight

Deadly clashes this week in southern Syria, home to the Druze ethnic group, are putting new pressure on the nascent government as it tries to prevent the country from fragmenting along sectarian lines.

Two days of fighting were set off by an audio recording purporting to feature a member of Syria's Druze community criticizing the Prophet Muhammad, and quickly escalated, leaving a number of dead, including civilians and 16 members of state security forces, the government said.

Write to don.forbes@wsj.com

TODAY IN CANADA

Earnings:

Brookfld Renwbl 1Q

Imperial Oil Limited 1Q

Magna Intl Inc. 1Q

Oncolytics Btech 1Q

Secure Waste Infr 1Q

Sprott Inc. 1Q

Economic Indicators $(ET)$:

Nothing expected

Stocks to Watch:

Andlauer Healthcare Group 1Q Net C$20.2M; 1Q Rev C$166.1M

Arc Resources 1Q EPS C$0.69; 1Q FFO C$1.45/Shr; 1Q Net C$404.7M; 2025 Budget Is Set to Deliver Meaningful Growth in Free Funds Flow Per Shr

Emergent Biosolutions: Announced 3-Yr Agreement With a Value of Approximately $65M to Supply the Ontario Ministry of Health With NARCAN Nasal Spray for the Ontario Naloxone Program

Gran Tierra Energy 1Q Loss/Shr 54c

Hammond Power 1Q Sales C$201.4M; 1Q EPS C$2.20; 1Q Adj EPS C$1.60

Headwater Exploration 1Q EPS C$0.21; 1Q Net C$50M

Maple Leaf Foods Provides Update on Previously Announced Spin-Off of Pork Ops; Secures Interim Court Order for Shareholder Meeting to Be Held on June 11; Maple Leaf Foods Enters Into Pre-Transaction Agreements to Support Execution of Spin-off; Dennis Organ Will Be President and CEO of Canada Packers

Pason Systems 1Q EPS C$0.25

Taseko Mines 1Q Loss/Shr C$0.09; 1Q Rev C$139.1M; 1Q Adj Loss/Shr C$0.02

Expected Major Events for Friday

07:45/ITA: Apr Italy Manufacturing PMI

07:50/FRA: Apr France Manufacturing PMI

07:55/GER: Apr Germany Manufacturing PMI

08:00/ITA: Mar Unemployment

08:59/JPN: Mar Labour Force Survey

09:00/ITA: Mar Foreign Trade non-EU

12:30/US: Apr U.S. Employment Report

14:00/US: Mar Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories & Orders (M3)

15:00/US: Apr Global Manufacturing PMI

All times in GMT. Powered by Kantar Media and Dow Jones.

Expected Earnings for Friday

AdvanSix $(ASIX)$ is expected to report $0.73 for 1Q.

Amneal Pharmaceuticals Inc $(AMRX)$ is expected to report $0.02 for 1Q.

Apollo Global Management Inc $(APO)$ is expected to report $1.85 for 1Q.

BrightSpring Health Services Inc $(BTSG)$ is expected to report $0.06 for 1Q.

Brookfield Business Corp (BBUC) is expected to report for 1Q.

Brookfield Renewable Corp (BEPC,BEPC.T) is expected to report for 1Q.

Brookfield Renewable Partners LP (BEP,BEP.UN.T) is expected to report $-0.46 for 1Q.

Butterfly Network Inc (BFLY) is expected to report $-0.09 for 1Q.

Cboe Global Markets Inc $(CBOE)$ is expected to report $2.20 for 1Q.

Cheniere Energy Partners LP $(CQP)$ is expected to report $1.13 for 1Q.

Chevron Corp $(CVX)$ is expected to report $2.12 for 1Q.

Cigna Group $(CI)$ is expected to report $5.26 for 1Q.

Cinemark Holdings Inc $(CNK)$ is expected to report $-0.32 for 1Q.

City Office REIT Inc (CIO) is expected to report $-0.10 for 1Q.

DuPont de Nemours Inc $(DD)$ is expected to report $0.84 for 1Q.

Exxon Mobil Corp $(XOM)$ is expected to report $1.77 for 1Q.

Fluor Corp $(FLR)$ is expected to report $0.52 for 1Q.

Forum Energy Technologies Inc (FET) is expected to report $0.15 for 1Q.

Franklin Resources Inc $(BEN)$ is expected to report $0.39 for 2Q.

Fulgent Genetics Inc $(FLGT)$ is expected to report $-0.48 for 1Q.

Imperial Oil Ltd (IMO,IMO.T) is expected to report $2.06 for 1Q.

InnSuites Hospitality Trust (IHT) is expected to report for 4Q.

Interface Inc $(TILE)$ is expected to report $0.22 for 1Q.

Johnson Outdoors Inc - Class A $(JOUT)$ is expected to report $0.50 for 2Q.

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp $(MSGS)$ is expected to report $1.40 for 3Q.

Magna International Inc (MG.T,MGA) is expected to report $1.05 for 1Q.

Perma-Pipe International Holdings Inc $(PPIH)$ is expected to report for 4Q.

Piper Sandler Cos $(PIPR)$ is expected to report $3.15 for 1Q.

Plymouth Industrial REIT Inc $(PLYM)$ is expected to report $-0.04 for 1Q.

Proto Labs $(PRLB)$ is expected to report $0.13 for 1Q.

Secure Waste Infrastructure Corp (SES.T) is expected to report for 1Q.

T Rowe Price Group Inc $(TROW)$ is expected to report $2.08 for 1Q.

Terex Corp $(TEX)$ is expected to report $0.45 for 1Q.

The Wendy's Company $(WEN)$ is expected to report $0.20 for 1Q.

Vince Holding Corp $(VNCE)$ is expected to report for 4Q.

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (WLKP) is expected to report $0.37 for 1Q.

Westlake Corp $(WLK)$ is expected to report $0.74 for 1Q.

WisdomTree Inc $(WT)$ is expected to report $0.16 for 1Q.

Xenia Hotels & Resorts Inc $(XHR)$ is expected to report $0.05 for 1Q.

fuboTV Inc $(FUBO)$ is expected to report $-0.10 for 1Q.

Powered by Kantar Media and Dow Jones.

ANALYST RATINGS ACTIONS

Becton Dickinson Cut to Market Perform From Outperform by William Blair

Camping World Holdings Raised to Overweight From Neutral by JP Morgan

Caterpillar Raised to Neutral From Underperform by Baird

Caterpillar Raised to Outperform From Perform by Oppenheimer

Cognizant Tech Solutions Raised to Positive From Neutral by Susquehanna

First Solar Raised to Buy From Hold by GLJ Research

Glaukos Cut to Equal-Weight From Overweight by Wells Fargo

Parsons Cut to Neutral From Outperform by Baird

PPG Industries Raised to Buy From Hold by Fermium Research

Regulus Therapeutics Cut to Equal-Weight From Overweight by Wells Fargo

Revvity Raised to Buy From Neutral by UBS

ServiceNow Raised to Buy From Hold by Truist Securities

Silgan Holdings Raised to Overweight From Neutral by JP Morgan

Western Digital Raised to Overweight From Neutral by JP Morgan

This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 02, 2025 05:57 ET (09:57 GMT)

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