- US equity futures rose on Thursday after strong earnings bolstered the bull case for the economy and markets, easing growth concerns for the time being.
- Contracts on the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 increased by more than 2%, led by gains in meta platforms after Facebook's main social network added more users than expected. PayPal holdings inc. shares rose in the premarket after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter revenue, while Qualcomm led u.s. chip stocks higher. The S&P 500 futures increased by 1.5%, while the Stoxx Europe 600 index increased by 1%.
- Thursday's relief rally caps a tense week marked by China's struggle to suppress COVID, Russia's war in Ukraine, and fears that the Federal Reserve's monetary tightening will tip the US economy into recession.
- ECB's de Guindos: Don't expect negative 2022 growth, even in the worst case.
- China drops coal imports tariffs to zero.
- ECB's de Guindos: The surge in energy prices is reducing demand and raising production costs.
- BoJ: Every business day, will offer to buy 10-year JGBs at 0.25% through fixed-rate operations unless it is highly likely that no bids will be submitted.
