US indices had a stellar session yesterday in spite of the US GDP miss. S&P 500 gained 2.47%, Dow Jones moved 1.85% higher and Nasdaq surged 3.06%. Russell 2000 gained 1.80%

Stocks in Asia traded higher. S&P/ASX 200 added 0.7%, Kospi gained 1% and Chinese indices traded up to 3% higher. Stock market in Japan was shut for holiday

DAX futures point to a higher opening of the European cash session today

Chinese Politburo promised more support for the Covid-hit economy and pledged to meet economic targets

Oil holds onto yesterday’s gains after media reported that Germany is ready to support EU embargo on Russian crude

Apple (AAPL.US) reported Q1 revenue  at $97.28 billion (exp. $93.89 billion), thanks to solid iPhone revenue ($50.57 billion vs $47.88 billion expected). EPS came in at $1.52 (exp. $1.43). Company said that it will increase buybacks by $90 billion. Shares dropped 2.2% in the after-hours trading

Amazon (AMZN.US) reported Q1 revenue at $116.4 billion – in-line with estimates. However, the company reported an unexpected loss per share of $7.56, while market expected profit of $8.40 per share. Net loss came in at $3.8 billion. Company said that it recorded a $7.6 billion loss on its investment in EV manufacturer Rivian. Shares plunged 9% in after-hours trading

Flash Q1 GDP reading from France showed no growth during the quarter (0.0% QoQ) while marked expected 0.3% QoQ expansion

Cryptocurrencies trade mostly lower with Bitcoin dropping 0.7% and Ethereum trading 0.1% lower

Precious metals gain on USD weakness. Gold trades 0.6% higher while silver gains 0.9%

AUD and NZD are the best performing major currencies while USD and CHF lag the most

News hit the markets yesterday in the afternoon saying that Germany is ready to support the EU embargo on Russian oil. As the final hurdle was cleared, a decision is expected to be made soon. Oil jumped on the news and upward move continued today. However, Brent’s advance was halted at 50% retracement of downward move launched in mid-March ($108.70 per barrel).