Investors are on high alert this week as 27% of S&P 500 companies are set to unveil their earnings. Tesla is in the spotlight with its earnings report due after the market closes on Tuesday, following a nearly 6% tumble on Monday amid production delay rumors. Alphabet, Google's parent company, is slated to reveal its earnings on Thursday.

Yesterday, U.S. indices took a nosedive, dropping 2.5%, though they managed to avoid closing at their lowest points of the day.

To be more precise: only 10% of Nasdaq 100 stocks were up, 7% in the S&P 500 and 3.3% in the Dow Jones. There was nowhere to hide.

Donald Trump's increased its attacks on Jerome Powell. Basically, he's saying that if the current situation is painful for everyone, it's the Fed's fault. And we can read between the lines what lies ahead if the White House's economic policy turns out to be a disaster: it will be Powell's fault for refusing to cut rates. The direct consequences: the dollar has taken a hit, US bond yields have jumped, and gold has soared to new heights, flirting with USD 3,500 per ounce.

The former market drivers, known as the Magnificent Seven, namely Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Tesla, all lost considerable ground yesterday, continuing their appalling 2025 trend. They have fallen between 15% (Microsoft) and 44% (Tesla) since the beginning of the year, representing a few trillion dollars in evaporated value. The S&P 500 has lost 16.1% since its record high on 19 February. The S&P 493, the virtual index from which the Magnificent Seven would have been removed, is down 5.2%. However, fear is everywhere in the market. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 has not traded since last Thursday. It is doing slightly better than its US counterpart, but is still down 10.4% from its own record high on March 3.

The trade war launched by Donald Trump is destabilizing investors around the world. If it comes with a crusade against the Fed, the situation could become explosive: financial markets abhor situations that are poorly controlled. Wall Street can tolerate the White House wreaking havoc around the world if it is in the interests of the U.S. But the American business community is much more nervous when chaos begins to spread at home. If, on top of that, dissension sets in between the political and monetary authorities, the risk of things getting out of hand increases.

We will therefore be monitoring two stormy relationships this week: that between China and the U.S., and that between Trump and Powell. On Wednesday, all eyes will be on the first PMI activity indicators for April, which will provide a snapshot of the major economies at a pivotal moment in the trade war. On Thursday, Ukraine is expected to sign a minerals agreement with the U.S. that could give a boost to peace negotiations with Russia. At the same time, around 50 companies with a market capitalisation of over £100 billion will unveil their quarterly results, including Tesla, Amazon, Alphabet, SAP, Nestlé and Pepsi. These figures will help to clarify the outlook for earnings, provided that companies are able to look beyond the ebb and flow of customs duties.

In Asia-Pacific, markets are trading within a narrow range this morning. They are down slightly in Japan, South Korea and Australia and up moderately in India and mainland China. Vietnam continues to slide after another US tariff attack, this time on solar panels. Washington has unveiled plans for surcharges ranging from 34.4% to 3521% on producers in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The plan is based on an investigation launched in 2024 by the Biden administration. European leading indicators are mostly down, while Wall Street futures are rising.

Today's economic highlights:

See the full calendar here.

  • Dollar index: 98,207
  • Gold: $3,455
  • Crude Oil (BRENT): $66.98 (WTI) $63.22
  • United States 10 years: 4.40%
  • BITCOIN: $88,620

In corporate news:

  • Donald Trump met with representatives from Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe's and Target who are seeking ways to circumvent tariffs.
  • Nvidia was shaken on Monday after Huawei announced a Chinese AI chip.
  • Amazon has suspended some discussions related to data centre leasing, according to Wells Fargo analysts.
  • Zimmer Biomet is finalising the acquisition of Paragon 28.
  • The FTC is suing Uber for its ‘misleading’ subscription service.
  • Chipotle plans to enter the Mexican market with the opening of its first restaurant in 2026.
  • Netflix is raising its prices in France, with the basic package with advertising increasing from €5.99 to €7.99.
  • ERG turns down a $5 billion acquisition proposal from American investor James Cameron.
  • Tesla introduces zero-interest financing for the updated Model Y in China and settles a lawsuit related to sudden acceleration.
  • Google confronts a trial over its search monopoly amid broader tech stock declines.
  • Uber Technologies faces a lawsuit from the US Federal Trade Commission over deceptive practices related to its Uber One subscription service.
  • Thoma Bravo is in advanced talks to acquire Boeing's Jeppesen navigation unit.
  • Nomura completes the acquisition of Macquarie's asset management divisions.

Today's main earnings: Tesla, GE Aerospace, Verizon Communications, Intuitive Surgical, RTX Corporation, Danaher, Chubb, Lockheed Martin, Elevance Health, Moody's, Northrop Grumman, Capital One, 3M Company, Kimberly-Clark...

Analyst Recommendations:

  • Accenture Plc: Oddo BHF downgrades to neutral from outperform with a target price reduced from USD 388 to USD 306.
  • Centerpoint Energy, Inc.: Barclays upgrades to equalweight from underweight with a target price raised from USD 30 to USD 37.
  • Cf Industries Holdings, Inc.: Oppenheimer downgrades to market perform from outperform.
  • Comerica Incorporated: Evercore ISI downgrades to underperform from in-line with a target price reduced from USD 65 to USD 50. 
  • Stellantis N.v.: Redburn Atlantic downgrades to neutral from buy with a target price reduced from EUR 16 to EUR 10.
  • United Parcel Service, Inc.: Wells Fargo downgrades to equalweight from overweight with a price target reduced from USD 120 to USD 98.
  • Unitedhealth Group Inc.: HSBC downgrades to hold from buy with a price target reduced from USD 600 to USD 490.
  • Adobe Inc.: Wells Fargo maintains its overweight recommendation and reduces the target price from USD 600 to USD 430.
  • Applovin Corporation: JP Morgan maintains its neutral recommendation and reduces the target price from 475 to USD 270.
  • Arista Networks Inc: Rosenblatt Securities Inc. maintains its sell recommendation and reduces the target price from 85 to USD 55.
  • Brunswick Corporation: Roth Capital Partners maintains its buy recommendation and reduces the target price from USD 85 to USD 60.
  • Entegris, Inc.: Wolfe Research maintains its outperform recommendation and reduces the target price from USD 126 to USD 95.
  • Etsy, Inc.: Goldman Sachs maintains its sell recommendation and reduces the target price from 45 to USD 35.
  • Iac Inc.: JP Morgan maintains its overweight recommendation and reduces the target price from 60 to USD 45.
  • Lumentum Holdings Inc.: Rosenblatt Securities Inc. maintains its buy recommendation and reduces the target price from 110 to USD 85.
  • Meta Platforms, Inc.: MoffettNathanson LLC maintains its buy recommendation and reduces the target price from USD 710 to USD 525.
  • Newmont Corporation: Canaccord Genuity maintains its buy recommendation and raises the target price from USD 56 to USD 75.
  • Noble Corporation Plc: SEB Bank maintains its buy recommendation and reduces the target price from USD 32 to USD 22.
  • Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Canaccord Genuity maintains its buy recommendation and reduces the target price from USD 1152 to USD 850.
  • Roku, Inc.: JP Morgan maintains its overweight recommendation and reduces the target price from 115 to USD 75.