London, England – European markets saw a positive start to the day as the U.K. reported better-than-expected first-quarter gross domestic product. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index opened higher by 0.52% at 8:08 a.m. London time. The FTSE 100 in the U.K. was up by 0.41%, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.39% and France’s CAC 40 was 0.45% higher.
State Bank of India Chairman, Dinesh Kumar Khara, mentioned that India’s interest rates are likely to stay “higher for longer,” predicting a prolonged status quo for the foreseeable future. Khara noted that India’s inflation had dipped below 5%, suggesting that the Reserve Bank of India may diverge from the policies of other central banks. In April, the RBI maintained its benchmark interest rate at 6.5% for the seventh consecutive meeting.
Singapore’s OCBC bank reported record first-quarter revenue and profit, with total income rising 8% year-on-year to SGD 3.63 billion and net profit increasing by 5% year-on-year to SGD 1.98 billion. Additionally, OCBC proposed to privatize its insurance subsidiary, Great Eastern, offering SGD 1.4 billion to acquire the remaining 11.56% stake it does not already own. This move represents a 36.9% premium over Great Eastern’s last traded price.
HSBC revised its projections for Xiaomi’s electric vehicle (EV) business, anticipating that the company could break even on its recently launched SU7 EV sooner than initially expected. The bank predicted a net profit of 685 million Chinese yuan by the end of 2026, compared to the previous estimate of 810 million yuan by 2028. Xiaomi’s strong order backlog and deliveries have bolstered HSBC’s confidence in the EV business.
According to a survey by the American Association of Individual Investors, individual investors’ sentiment towards stock prices remains mixed, with a significant portion adopting a neutral stance. The percentage of neutral investors rose to 35.4%, the highest level since last September, while bullish sentiment increased to 40.8%. In contrast, bearish sentiment dropped to 23.8%, below the historical average.
In after-hours trading, several companies experienced notable price movements. Yelp shares declined by 6% after posting light second-quarter revenue guidance, while Sweetgreen saw a 5% increase in its stock price following strong first-quarter revenue. Akamai Technologies slid nearly 9% due to weak guidance for the second quarter. These movements reflect the ongoing volatility in the stock market.