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Luke Kawa

S&P 500 closes at record in widespread rally

The S&P 500 rose 0.3% on Thursday, setting new intraday and closing records in the process. The Nasdaq 100 dipped 0.2% while the Russell 2000 continued its strong start to the quarter with a 0.5% advance. Bitcoin rose above $113,000, another all-time high.

Tech and communications services were the lone two S&P 500 sector ETFs to end in the red, while consumer discretionary led the way higher.

Delta’s solid earnings and good-enough outlook were a major positive for not just the stock, but the entire industry.

AMD spiked after HSBC analysts doubled their price target on the chip company, saying they underestimated the performance and pricing power of its new line of processors.

Tesla jumped after CEO Elon Musk said its robotaxi operations in Austin would expand their coverage this weekend and the service would be available in the Bay Area in a month or two.

I’m from the government and I’m here to help: MP Materials went up 50% after the Pentagon announced it was taking a large stake in the rare earths company amid on-again, off-again access to these materials from China.

WK Kellogg soared 30% after announcing it’s being acquired by Ferrero.

Circle caught a bid after a report from Bloomberg that the Jack Ma-backed Ant Group would use its stablecoin on the platform.

Vertiv, an infrastructure provider for data centers, tumbled after Amazon launched its own cooling system for AI servers.

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SoftBank rallies on OpenAI and SB Energy IPO plans; its Japanese-traded stock notches best day since 2000

SoftBank shares skyrocketed in Tokyo trading, notching their biggest daily gain since 2000, boosted by news about planned IPOs at OpenAI, in which SoftBank has a sizable stake, and SoftBank’s own SB Energy unit. ADRs of SoftBank traded in the US rallied, too.

OpenAI is accelerating the timeline to its public debut, preparing to confidentially file its IPO prospectus with regulators as early as Friday, according to The Wall Street Journal. That could set the stage for a highly anticipated public listing as early as September.

SoftBank has systematically expanded its financial exposure to OpenAI, securing a highly valuable stake in the company. As of the fiscal year-end, SoftBank’s cumulative investment in OpenAI totaled $34.6 billion, with a fair value of $79.6 billion, and cumulative investment gains totaled $45 billion, according to a SoftBank filing.

For SoftBank, a successful public debut is critical to demonstrating that OpenAI can protect its market position amid intense industry pressure. Investors have grown increasingly anxious that OpenAI is losing ground to competitors like Anthropic, which is currently in talks for a funding round that could push its own valuation past that of OpenAI.

Adding to the upward momentum, SB Energy, the digital infrastructure and clean energy development firm co-owned by SoftBank and Ares Management, confirmed its own confidential draft registration filing for a major US public listing.

This multipronged IPO pipeline has boosted investors’ confidence in billionaire founder Masayoshi Son’s high-conviction AI thesis, showcasing a road map for SoftBank to transition its paper gains into potential liquidity. SoftBank’s stock is up 37% so far this year.

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Nio posts better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and forecasts strong Q2 sales

Chinese EV maker Nio posted Q1 results before markets opened on Thursday, reporting earnings that beat expectations and strong sales guidance for the second quarter. Shares of the company climbed more than 4% in premarket trading.

For the first quarter, Nio reported:

  • Adjusted earnings of $0.00 per share, compared to the $0.05 loss per share that Wall Street analysts polled by FactSet had expected.

  • $3.7 billion in revenue, compared to the $3.74 billion consensus estimate.

  • 83,465 vehicle deliveries, slightly exceeding its own forecast of between 80,000 and 83,000.

For Q2, Nio guided for deliveries of between 110,000 and 115,000, compared to estimates of 113,807. The company expects second-quarter revenues to come in between $4.75 billion and $4.99 billion, while analysts are forecasting $4.6 billion.

The Chinese auto industry has seen a surge in exports so far this year, as companies make efforts to combat declining domestic sales. Nio, which is still relatively new to overseas operations, has plans to ship “several thousand” EVs overseas this year.

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