Global Markets: The three major U.S. stock indices close higher collectively, with the Nasdaq up over 1%. Chip and storage concept stocks soar.

U.S. stock market: All three major U.S. stock indexes rose at the close on April 1. By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 224.23 points from the previous trading day, closing at 46,565.74 points, a gain of 0.48%; the S&P 500 Stock Index rose 46.8 points, closing at 6,575.32 points, a gain of 0.72%; the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 250.32 points, closing at 21,840.95 points, a gain of 1.16%.

Semiconductor and memory-related stocks rose. Western Digital jumped more than 10%; Micron Technology and Intel rose more than 8%; Applied Materials and AMD rose more than 3%.

The aluminum sector generally rose. U.S. Aluminum and Century Aluminum jumped more than 8% after the impact of a missile attack on the Middle East’s largest aluminum company forced production to halt. Nike’s share price closed down 16%, marking its largest single-day drop since June 2024.

Most popular Chinese concept stocks closed higher. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rose 0.31%; Li Auto rose more than 3%; NIO and XPeng Motors, and iQIYI rose more than 2%; Bilibili rose more than 1%.

European stock market: All three major European stock indexes rose across the board on April 1. The FTSE 100 average price index of the London stock market closed at 10,364.79 points, up 188.34 points from the previous trading day, a gain of 1.85%; the CAC40 index of the Paris stock market closed at 7,981.27 points, up 164.33 points from the previous trading day, a gain of 2.1%; the DAX index of the Frankfurt stock market closed at 23,298.89 points, up 618.85 points from the previous trading day, a gain of 2.73%.

Commodities market: International oil prices fell on April 1. As of the close that day, the NYMEX WTI crude oil futures monthly continuous contract fell $2.47, closing at $98.91 per barrel, a decline of 2.44%. COMEX gold futures monthly continuous contract rose $106.00, up 2.27%, to $4,784.6 per ounce. COMEX silver futures monthly continuous contract rose $0.28, up 0.38%, to $75.2 per ounce. Spot gold rose $90.93, up 1.95%, to $4,758.31 per ounce. Spot silver fell $0.07, down 0.09%, to $75.08 per ounce.

Overnight highlights

Federal Reserve Basing: Households and businesses view oil-price shocks as a short-term phenomenon; consumer spending remains steady

Thomas Barkin, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, said that even though oil prices have risen sharply, businesses and households still tend to view the shock as a short-term phenomenon. At present, there is virtually no evidence that consumer spending has fallen noticeably, or that the public’s inflation expectations have shown concerning changes. In his latest interview, Barkin said: “My instinct is that people are still looking at this issue from a short-term perspective right now.” This judgment is based on weekly credit card spending data, as well as his ongoing communication with business executives about issues such as pricing and investment.

The biggest IPO in history is coming! SpaceX, Musk’s unit, is reportedly filing for a listing

SpaceX, Musk’s unit, is reportedly secretly submitting an IPO filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), taking an important step that could make it one of the biggest IPOs in history. According to people familiar with the matter, the satellite manufacturing and rocket-launch company has filed its listing application in a confidential manner. Previously, it was reported that SpaceX plans to raise about $40 billion to $80 billion through an IPO, and that the company’s target valuation could be $1.75 trillion.

Is the valuation flashing red? OpenAI stock is sluggish in the secondary resale market; demand shifts to Anthropic

Just as OpenAI, a U.S. star startup, completed a massive financing of $122 billion this week and achieved a valuation of $852 billion (about RMB 5.85 trillion), a piece of news cast a shadow over the high-number figure. Ken Smythe, founder of NextRound Capital, a private-equity secondary trading market, told media on Wednesday that in the market they operate, demand for OpenAI stock is declining. In recent weeks, several hedge funds and venture capital firms holding large stakes have contacted them seeking to sell OpenAI stock worth about $600 million.

Eli Lilly’s blockbuster oral weight-loss drug approved for listing; shares surge more than 5% during the day

Eli Lilly announced on Wednesday, local time, that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its GLP-1 oral drug for marketing. This is a major milestone for Eli Lilly and will test the market potential of the new weight-loss drug. Affected by this news, Eli Lilly shares surged more than 5% intraday. Eli Lilly said the once-daily drug, named Foundayo (active ingredient: orforglipron), will begin shipping next Monday through its direct-to-consumer platform LillyDirect, and will be launched at major pharmacies and telemedicine platforms “within the short term.”

Middle East’s largest aluminum firm reportedly “out of control shutdown” after factory attack; it has started selling aluminum smelting feedstock

Latest market news says that after Iran launched missile and drone attacks over the weekend on its Al Taweelah smelter plant under the Middle East’s largest aluminum producer, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the company was forced to stop operations due to the smelting equipment’s “out-of-control shutdown.” As background, in the late hours of Saturday Beijing time, EGA released an announcement stating that earlier that day, the Al Taweelah production base in the Khalifa Economic Zone in Abu Dhabi was hit by Iranian missiles and drones and suffered severe damage.

U.S. latest retail data stops the decline, but the market has turned its focus to March amid fighting

Data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Wednesday showed that U.S. February retail sales rebounded 0.6% month over month after a slight decline in January. This indicates that before the outbreak of fighting in the Middle East, against the backdrop of an AI-related threat to the jobs market and weak consumer confidence, U.S. consumers increased spending after a lackluster start to the year. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)

IEA deputy executive director: Oil supply crisis will intensify in April; considering further release of strategic reserves

On Wednesday (April 1, local time), Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said that after the outbreak of the Iran war, an oil supply shortage has led to a sharp rise in oil prices, and this situation will further worsen over the coming month. Birol said in a podcast interview with the head of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, Nicolai Tangen, on Wednesday that the energy crisis triggered by the U.S.-Iran war is the most severe in history.

Crude oil shipping watch: Saudi exports cut in half in March; India may import Iranian crude after 7 years

Caixin.com April 1 report. Shipping-tracking data shows that as Middle East fighting disrupts the route through the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia’s March crude oil export volume fell by half quarter-on-quarter. As background, Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s main sources of crude oil supplies—about one out of every six barrels of crude oil brought to market comes from Saudi Arabia—so the country’s shipment situation is especially closely watched.

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