US EQUITY OPEN: Stocks bid after Trump extends ceasefire

OPEN: Stocks opened in the green on Wednesday after US President Trump agreed to extend the ceasefire with Iran, although he is continuing the blockade. The announcement implied the extension was indefinite, but the White House later clarified it had been extended for three to five days. Despite the extension, there were reports of cargo ships coming under fire, while the IRGC Navy seized two offending ships. Reports in the New York Post had suggested talks could resume on Friday in Islamabad, but Tasnim News said Iran had not changed its position on negotiations. Sectors were firmer across the board, led by Energy, Utilities and Communications, while Real Estate, Financials and Consumer Discretionary lagged, but remained higher. Crude prices were firmer despite the ceasefire extension, with uncertainty still high over any progress, while a short extension of only a couple of days would merely delay the issue. Gold and silver were both firmer, with silver outperforming, while Treasury yields were lower across the curve. The Dollar Index was flat, while the antipodes outperformed and CHF lagged. Looking ahead, US Treasury Secretary Bessent is due to speak shortly, while the 20-year bond auction is also due later (preview here). 

STOCK SPECIFICS

• Adobe (ADBE): Announces 25bln buyback
• Teledyne Technologies (TDY): EPS and revenue beat and raised FY profit outlook
• Alibaba Group (BABA): With Tencent in talks to invest in DeepSeek, The Information reports
• Philip Morris International (PM): Top and bottom line surpassed expectations, as did midpoint of FY profit view
• United Airlines (UAL): Strong quarterly report, albeit with mixed guidance
• Vertiv Holdings (VRT): EPS light and next-quarter guidance disappointed
• Otis Worldwide (OTIS): Revenue beat and raised dividend 5%
• GE Vernova (GEV): Top line surpassed expectations and lifted FY revenue guidance
• Boeing (BA): Shallower loss per share than expected and less negative FCF than expected
• Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): Strong Q1 report
• Airbnb (ABNB): Upgraded at Wells Fargo
• Zscaler (ZS): Downgraded at Morgan Stanley
• Alphabet (GOOGL): Unveils chips for AI training and inference in latest challenge to NVIDIA