Overnight US stocks | Israel and Lebanon ceasefire agreement extended by three weeks. Three major indexes fell, Intel Corporation (INTC.US) rose nearly 20% after hours.

On Thursday, the three major indexes closed down. The S&P 500 index rose to a high of 7147.78 points, reaching an all-time high during intraday trading. Trump stated that after hosting a meeting of representatives from two countries at the White House, the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon has been extended by three weeks. Trump posted on the real social media platform, saying, "The meeting went very smoothly! The United States will cooperate with Lebanon to help Lebanon resist the threat of Hezbollah's armed forces." The original ceasefire agreement reached by both sides last week was originally for 10 days and was about to expire. [US stocks] At the close, the Dow fell 179.71 points, a decrease of 0.36%, to 49310.32 points; the Nasdaq fell 219.06 points, a decrease of 0.89%, to 24438.50 points; the S&P 500 fell 29.50 points, a decrease of 0.41%, to 7108.40 points. Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) fell 3.5%, NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) fell over 1%, and Intel Corporation(INTC.US) rose nearly 20% after announcing its financial report. The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index fell by 2.4%, TAL Education Group Sponsored ADR Class A (TAL.US) fell by 9%, and Alibaba Group Holding Limited Sponsored ADR (BABA.US) fell by over 3%. [European stocks] The German DAX30 index fell by 59.23 points, a decrease of 0.24%, to 24151.00 points; the UK's FTSE 100 index fell by 21.68 points, a decrease of 0.21%, to 10454.78 points; the French CAC40 index rose by 70.89 points, an increase of 0.87%, to 8227.32 points; the European Stoxx 50 index fell by 14.16 points, a decrease of 0.24%, to 5892.06 points; the Spanish IBEX 35 index fell by 140.35 points, a decrease of 0.78%, to 17866.05 points; the Italian FTSE MIB index rose by 106.04 points, an increase of 0.22%, to 47891.50 points. [Asian stock markets] The Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.75%, while the Korean KOSPI index rose by 0.9%. [Cryptocurrency] Bitcoin fell by 0.77%, to $77993.36; Ethereum fell by over 3%, to $2326.7. [Crude Oil] Light crude futures for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $2.89 to close at $95.85 per barrel, an increase of 3.11%; Brent crude futures for June delivery in London rose by $3.16 to close at $105.07 per barrel, an increase of 3.1%. [Precious Metals] spot gold fell below $4700, closing at $4693.02 per ounce; spot silver closed at $75.434 per ounce. [Macro News] US initial jobless claims increase slightly, indicating limited layoffs. Last week, initial jobless claims in the US rose slightly, but the current application level still matches the low layoff situation. According to data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday, the number of initial jobless claims in the US increased by 6000 to 214,000 for the week ending April 18, with the market median forecast at 210,000. This period coincides with the period referenced in the government's employment report for April. Continued jobless claims rose to 1.82 million. Initial claims remain near their lowest levels since last year, which is consistent with recent data showing that the labor market is stabilizing. According to a survey conducted in late March, about half of American workers are worried about losing their jobs, but the data on jobless claims does not reflect a significant increase in layoffs yet. US business activity rebounds in April, Iran war raises output prices. PMI data shows that US business activity rebounded in April after stagnating for a month, but factory delivery times have increased due to the war with Iran, leading to a measure of output prices reaching the highest level in nearly four years. The US April S&P Global, Inc. comprehensive PMI preliminary value rose to 52.0, up from 50.3 in March, the lowest level since September 2023. This improvement is mainly driven by the manufacturing sector, and is powered by inventory accumulation conducted under concerns about supply adequacy and rising prices, as reported by Standard Pool Corporation. The manufacturing PMI rose from 52.3 in March to 54.0, reaching a new high in 47 months, exceeding economists' expectations of 52.5. The new orders index rose from 52.3 in March to 54.8. The services PMI rose from 49.8 (the first contraction since January 2023) to 51.3. Iranian Foreign Ministry: Negotiations have shifted from the nuclear issue to a complete ceasefire. In response to the news that speaker Kalibaf has been appointed as the head of the Iranian negotiating team in Islamabad, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson made an official statement on the 23rd. The spokesperson emphasized that the nature of the recent negotiations has fundamentally changed, with the core issue no longer being nuclear, but rather a complete end to the war. The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that Kalibaf has extensive experience in several fields, with a background in the Iran-Iraq war. As speaker, he can effectively coordinate various domestic forces and is trusted by all political factions. Kalibaf teamed up with Aragzi, who also has a war background, and the Iranian side believes that this is an efficient diplomatic combination that can oversee the overall situation. The spokesperson made it clear that the nuclear issue is no longer the focus, and the current focus of the negotiations is a complete ceasefire, with the primary task of safeguarding the country's core interests. Shortly before this statement was issued, Israeli sources reported that Kalibaf had resigned from the Iranian negotiating team because of the involvement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Trump intends to extend the ship exemption policy to ensure oil and gas transportation to ease supply tensions. The Trump administration plans to extend an exemption for shipping, allowing foreign oil tankers to transport oil and gasoline within the United States to address supply interruptions and price increases caused by the Iran war. According to sources, a decision on continuing the exemption for energy transport that is not subject to the Jones Act may be announced as early as Friday local time. The current exemption will expire on May 17. This move may provide some convenience for US refiners who are starting to book waterborne cargo for July. It is currently unclear how long the extension will last or what commodities it will cover. A White House official stated that the consideration is on extending the exemption, but did not provide further details. [Individual stock news] AI-driven demand rebound, Intel Corporation(INTC.US) first-quarter revenue exceeds expectations. On Thursday, Intel Corporation announced first-quarter sales of $13.6 billion, a 7% increase year-over-year, exceeding analysts' expectations by 11%. Over the past year, as artificial intelligence companies have deployed large language models and other tools operated by autonomous AI "agents," the more fundamental CPUs that Intel Corporation excels in have regained popularity. Intel Corporation raised its second-quarter sales forecast to $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion, higher than analysts' forecast of $13 billion. Intel Corporation CEO Gelsinger said in a statement, "The next wave of artificial intelligence will bring intelligence to end-users, transitioning from base models to reasoning, then to agents. This shift is significantly increasing demand for Intel Corporation CPUs, chips, and advanced packaging products." [Major bank ratings] Credit Suisse: Lowered AT&T (T.US) target price from $28 to $26 UBS Group AG: Raised Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) target price from $301 to $304. Raised Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) target price from $352 to $364. Raised Texas Instruments Incorporated (TXN.US) target price from $260 to $295.