While risk appetite increased again in global markets with the relative decrease in tensions in the Middle East and the strong Nvidia balance sheet, the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data to be announced worldwide became the focus of investors.
The increasing optimism that an agreement could be reached in the talks between the USA and Iran, which are mostly conducted through mediators, gave the markets a breath of fresh air. US President Donald Trump’s statement that the current situation with Iran is “right at the border” and his positive assessments of the attitude of the Iranian officials with whom he held talks fostered hopes that geopolitical risks in the Middle East could decrease.
Expectations that tensions in the region may decrease and concerns about energy supply easing have brought about a retreat in oil prices. As the decline in oil prices indicated that inflation pressures could be limited, the selling pressure also weakened in the bond markets.
While the barrel of Brent oil decreased by 4.8 percent to 102.3 dollars yesterday, the US 10-year bond interest rate decreased by approximately 10 bases to 4.58 percent. On the new trading day, Brent oil was traded at $102.4 a barrel with an increase of 0.1 percent, while the US 10-year bond interest rate remained flat.
On the other hand, the strong balance sheet announced by the US chip manufacturer Nvidia, the world’s largest company, and the forecast of $92.8 billion in revenue for the next quarter supported the optimism in the markets.
The company’s revenue in the three-month period ending April 26, which it accepted as the first quarter of the 2027 fiscal year in its balance sheet, increased by 85 percent annually to $81.6 billion.
Nvidia, which increased its revenue by 20 percent compared to the previous quarter, earned $44.1 billion in revenue in the same period last year. Market expectation was that Nvidia’s revenue in this period would be 78.9 billion dollars.
In addition to these developments, the meeting minutes published by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) were also closely followed. The minutes showed that if inflation remains high, the possibility of an interest rate increase becomes stronger.
In the minutes, it was stated that the majority of Fed officials were of the opinion that if inflation continued to remain permanently above 2 percent, it might be appropriate to tighten the policy stance to some extent.
Analysts stated that although the dissolution of the geopolitical risk premium and the strengthening investor appetite led by Nvidia provided short-term relief in the markets, the fact that the Fed minutes still point to a tight stance on inflation keeps alive the question marks regarding the permanence of optimism.
With these developments, the ounce price of gold, which increased by 1.4 percent yesterday to 4 thousand 543 dollars, finds buyers at 4 thousand 535 dollars, with a 0.2 percent decrease on the new day. While the dollar index decreased by 0.2 percent yesterday to 99.1, it remains horizontal today.
On the corporate side, shares of discount store chain TJX, which announced its balance sheet yesterday, rose nearly 6 percent after the company revised its annual sales and profit forecasts upwards.
Shares of US retail chain Target fell by approximately 4 percent, despite reporting profits and revenues above expectations.
With these developments, the S&P 500 index increased by 1.08 percent, the Nasdaq index increased by 1.55 percent and the Dow Jones index increased by 1.31 percent. Index futures contracts in the USA started the day with a negative trend.
– European stock markets followed a positive course
A positive trend was observed in European equity markets, due to the decreasing geopolitical risk perception and the rise led by technology stocks. Expectations that falling energy prices across the region could alleviate inflation pressures supported the demand for risky assets.
Inflation data announced in the Eurozone and the UK came below expectations. According to the final data in the Eurozone, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 1 percent on a monthly basis and 3 percent on an annual basis in April, in line with expectations.
In the UK, annual inflation, which was 3.3 percent in March, decreased to 2.8 percent in April. Monthly inflation in the country was 0.7 percent.
Signs of a slowdown in inflation and expectations that energy flows in the Middle East will accelerate again were among the factors that supported the risk appetite in European stock markets.
With these developments, the DAX 40 index in Germany increased by 1.38 percent, the FTSE 100 index in the UK increased by 0.99 percent, the CAC 40 index in France increased by 1.7 percent and the FTSE MIB 30 index in Italy increased by 1.71 percent. Index futures contracts in Europe started the day positively.
– There is a technology rally in South Korea
While the increasing risk appetite led by technology in the USA and Europe is seen to be reflected in the Asian side in the new day, the rapid rise in technology and semiconductor companies in South Korea attracts attention.
Analysts stated that investors focused on the artificial intelligence theme again after Nvidia’s strong balance sheet, and stated that the suspension of the planned strike decision of approximately 50 thousand employees at Samsung Electronics due to a wage dispute was also effective in this rise.
In South Korea, shares of Samsung Electronics increased by 7.6 percent, shares of SK Hynix increased by 11.5 percent and shares of LG Electronics increased by 26.8 percent.
On the other hand, according to data released today in the region, the foreign trade balance in Japan gave a surplus of 301.9 billion yen (approximately 1.9 billion dollars) in April, contrary to expectations. While core machinery orders in the country decreased by 9.4 percent on a monthly basis in March, they increased by 5.9 percent on an annual basis.
Sectoral Purchasing Managers Indices (PMI) in Japan decreased in May compared to the previous month. In the country, manufacturing industry PMI was 54.5, service sector PMI was 50 and composite PMI was 51.1 in May.
With these developments, near the closing, the Nikkei 225 index in Japan increased by 3.7 percent, the Kospi index in South Korea increased by 8.2 percent and the Shanghai composite index in China increased by 0.1 percent, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong decreased by 0.1 percent.
– Regional and global issues were discussed during the Erdoğan-Trump meeting
BIST 100 index at Borsa Istanbul, which followed a sales-oriented trend yesterday, finished the day at 14,012.01 points, losing 0.12 percent of its value.
The June futures contract based on the BIST 30 index in the Borsa Istanbul Futures and Options Market (VIOP) rose by 0.44 percent in the evening session compared to the normal session closing.
While the Dollar/TL exchange rate closed yesterday at 45.5935, today, at the opening of the interbank market, it is traded at 45.6120, just above the previous closing.
On the other hand, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan talked on the phone with US President Donald Trump. During the meeting, bilateral relations and regional and global issues were discussed.
Analysts stated that an intensive data agenda will be followed today, especially the financial services confidence index in the country and the global manufacturing industry, service sector and composite PMI data abroad, and noted that technically, 13,900 and 13,800 points in the BIST 100 index are support, and 14,200 and 14,300 levels are resistance.
