Good morning investors! Stocks bounced yesterday as ceasefire continues.
Today we cover:
US producer prices rise
IMF sees economies falling
Stocks jump
📊 Economy and News
US Producer Prices Rise
U.S. producer prices rose 0.5% in March, below economists' expectations of 1.1%, as the Labor Department reported. However, surging energy costs driven by the Iran war—particularly a 15.7% jump in gasoline prices—pushed the annual PPI to 4.0%, its highest since February 2023.
Energy prices surged 8.5%, while core goods excluding food and energy gained a modest 0.2%.
Economists noted that the impact of import tariffs on producer inflation appears to be easing, though rising fuel costs are expected to keep upward pressure on consumer prices and delay Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in the near term.
Global hits:
Iran war will hit UK growth the hardest of any rich economies.
Prediction markets will grow to $1 trillion by 2030.
Japan manufacturers’ confidence dips most in three years on Middle East concerns.
IMF Talks: The International Monetary Fund has downgraded its global growth outlook for 2026 due to the ongoing Middle East conflict and resulting energy disruptions.
The IMF now forecasts 3.1% global GDP growth, down 0.2 percentage points from January, with oil prices averaging around $82 per barrel.
Emerging and developing economies face a sharper cut to 3.9% growth, hit hardest by higher energy and food costs, currency weakness, and reduced capital inflows, particularly commodity importers and countries in the Middle East and Central Asia.
Advanced economies see milder impacts, while regional variations are stark: Asia remains the fastest-growing area, India’s outlook improved slightly to 6.5%, but the Middle East and North Africa suffer steep declines.
The UK, however, is expected to be the worst hit among all advanced economies.
Reminder: New York mayor names East Harlem as first site for city-run grocery store. Also, US set to launch tariff refund system on April 20.
👨 Sponsored
Here’s how an expert trader racks up win after win… 30+ and counting. If you need to generate steady cash flow, see how he finds overvalued options. He’ll show you how he does it in detail.
📈 Stocks
S&P 500 6,967.38 (+1.18%)
DJIA 48,535.99 (+0.66%)
NASDAQ 23,639.08 (+1.97%)
BRENT CRUDE 94.14 (-4.37%)
* Prices as of Apr 15th, 12:20 AM UTC
Stocks Go Higher As Iran-US Plan Another Round of Negotiations
Wall Street closed higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 closing just 12 points short of its all-time record, supported by renewed optimism for U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks.
Tech had a great day with positive news coming from different corners. Meta Platforms said it agreed to deploy 1 gigawatt of custom artificial intelligence chips using Broadcom technology as part of a multi-gigawatt deal. Meta also said Broadcom’s CEO, Hock Tan, will leave the Meta board after two years of service.
Meta jumped about 5% during the day with Broadcom also reporting a jump after the bell.
Nvidia is seeing its longest winning streak since 2023, up 18% over ten days thanks to the company having $1 trillion of GPU orders through 2027.
Similarly, shares of Oracle and Bloom Energy popped after the companies reached a deal for more AI data center capacity. Oracle has already raised over $100 billion in debt to support its data center build.
Interesting: Crypto exchange Kraken confirms it has confidentially filed for an IPO.
U.S. oil price tumbles below $92 as White House considers further talks with Iran.
💵 Personal Finance
Why Some Experts Are Still Scared
The stock market’s recent rally is driven by one simple truth: the worst-case scenarios investors feared never materialized.
After weeks of selling pressure from geopolitical tensions (especially the Iran conflict), fears of spiking oil prices and inflation, and worries about private credit risks, stocks have surged since late March.
These fears failed to shock the market or didn’t shock as expected:
Geopolitical shock: Despite the Iran war, oil prices stayed stable and interest rates did not surge — removing a major threat to the rally.
Private credit meltdown: Concerns that problems at firms like Blue Owl Capital would collapse the sector proved overblown.
Magnificent Seven collapse: Repeated negative narratives around Nvidia, Amazon, and Alphabet didn’t stop these stocks from rebounding sharply, with Nvidia climbing from ~$165 to $196.51.
Markets often rise not because everything is perfect, but because the disasters everyone braced for simply don’t occur. However, there are still risks as the US-Iran conflict continues.
💰 Be a Better Investor
"It is an act of protest to overcome negative beliefs about money in order to save, pay off debt, invest, and find fulfilling work.
What did you think of today's newsletter?
👩🏽⚖️ Legal Stuff
FOR EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY; NOT ADVICE. Morning Download products and services are offered for educational and informational purposes only and should NOT be construed as a securities-related offer or solicitation or be relied upon as personalized financial advice. We are not financial advisors and cannot give personalized advice. There is a risk of loss in all trading, and you may lose some or all of your original investment. Results presented are not typical. This message may contain paid advertisements, or affiliate links. This content is for educational purposes only.
Please review the full risk disclaimer: MorningDownload.com/terms-of-use