Markets Roar, Big Tech Soars — But Is the Rally Built to Last?

• 📈 Market Indices Update

• 📢 Top 3 Market Stories

• 🔎 Rich & Powerful Are Buying

• 🔥 Overrated Stocks

• 📊 One Visual

• 🚀 Biggest Market Movers

• 📅 Upcoming Economic Events

📈 Market Indices Update (Week-to-Date)

• S&P 500: ↑ 4.6% to 5,525.21 – Strong tech earnings and easing trade tensions fueled a robust rally. ​

• Dow Jones: ↑ 2.5% to 40,113.50 – Gains driven by industrials and optimism over potential tariff relief. ​

• Nasdaq: ↑ 6.7% to 17,382.94 – Tech giants like Alphabet and Nvidia led the surge amid impressive earnings.

• Gold (Spot $/Oz): ↓ 3.1% to $3,318.95/oz – Declined as investors shifted focus to equities amid market optimism. ​

• 10-Yr Treasury Yield: ↓ 0.13% to 4.29% – Yields fell as bond prices rose, reflecting increased demand for safe-haven assets. ​

• EUR/USD: 1.1364 (↓ 1.3%) – Euro weakened against the dollar amid mixed economic data. ​

• USD/JPY: 143.67 (↑ 2.0%) – Dollar strengthened against the yen, influenced by U.S. economic indicators. ​

• Bitcoin: ↑ 11.6% to $94,676.90 – Continued its upward trajectory, buoyed by institutional interest and ETF inflows.

^{_{Data as of market close, 4:00pm ET}}

📢 Top 3 Market Stories You Should Care About

​1️⃣ Treasury Secretary: U.S.-China Trade War 'Unsustainable' (Source)

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the trade war with China is "unsustainable."

• Tariffs remain sky-high (145% U.S., 125% China), hurting global trade.

• The U.S. is seeking a "rebalance," not a full decoupling.

• Market Reaction: S&P 500 rose +4.6%, Nasdaq gained +6.7%.

🔎 Why It Matters:
Hints of a softer stance boosted optimism, but no deal is in sight yet.

2️⃣ Alphabet - $GOOGL ( ▼ 0.99% ) , $GOOG ( ▼ 0.88% ) - Reports Strong Q1, Announces First Dividend (Source)

• Revenue: $90.23 billion, a 12% increase year-over-year.

• Google Cloud Revenue: $12.3 billion, up 28% from the previous year.

• Dividend: Increased by 5% to $0.21 per share.

• Stock Buyback: Announced a new $70 billion share repurchase program.

🔎Why It Matters: Google’s results show Big Tech is still thriving, even amid AI competition and regulatory risks.

3️⃣ Euronext CEO: IPO Market Is 'Frozen' (Source)

• Global IPO activity has stalled due to market volatility.

• Many companies are delaying listings to avoid uncertainty.

• Trade tensions are hurting new capital formation.

🔎 Why It Matters:
A frozen IPO market limits new investment opportunities and slows economic growth.

🔎 What 5 Rich & Powerful Are Buying

📈 John Hess – Director, Goldman Sachs $GS ( ▲ 0.25% ) 
→ Bought 4,000 shares (~$2M) on April 18, 2025.
→ Followed strong Q1 results; stock rose +3.2% post-transaction.

🚀 Calavo Growers $CVGW ( ▼ 2.22% ) – CEO Insider Buy
→ CEO bought 100,000 shares ($2.4M) on April 17, 2025.
→ Stock gained +5.1%, signaling potential turnaround.

📉 Mark Zuckerberg – CEO, Meta Platforms $META ( ▼ 0.92% ) 
→ Sold ~$733M in Meta stock during Q1 2025; sales continued into April.
→ Sales under Rule 10b5-1 plan; stock down -0.7% this week.

💰 Hedge Funds Dump $750B in U.S. Stocks
→ Hedge funds sold ~$750B YTD to de-risk portfolios.
→ Short interest in S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 rose.
→ Foreign investors continued buying.

💵 Kering Authorizes €8.6B Share Buyback
→ Shareholders approved a €8.64B (10% of capital) buyback.
→ Max price: €700/share, valid for 18 months.

🔥 Overhyped Stock of the Week: $LOAR ( ▼ 0.93% ) 

📚 Company Overview:
Loar Holdings is a newly public aerospace and defense supplier, working with industry giants like Boeing, Airbus, and Lockheed Martin. Since its IPO in April 2024, it has posted rapid earnings growth and attracted strong institutional attention.

📊 Key Financials & Metrics:

• Stock Price: $96.89

• P/E Ratio: 403x

• EV/EBITDA: 75x

• Market Cap: ~$9B

• Quarterly Revenue Growth: +28% YoY

• EPS Growth: +1,200% YoY (Q4); projected +1,441% in Q1 2025

• ROE: 3%

• Net Profit Margin: ~5.5%

• Analysts’ 12-Month Target: $94.75 (below current price)

• 30-Day Change: +41.3% | YTD Change: +31%

💪 Pros:

• Healthy earnings growth

• Growing institutional interest; featured on IBD’s IPO Leaders list

• Strategic relationships with Boeing $BA ( ▲ 1.64% ) and Lockheed Martin $LMT ( ▼ 0.21% ) 

💩 Cons:

• Trading at 403x earnings and 75x EBITDA — sky-high valuation for the sector

• Recent IPO status creates higher volatility and limited visibility

• Aerospace/defense demand is cyclical and sensitive to global tensions

📉 Why It’s Likely Overvalued: Loar's growth is impressive, but the stock’s 403x P/E ratio and below-market analyst target suggest the hype has already been priced in. With limited operating history and exposure to geopolitical risks, Loar may struggle to justify its valuation without near-perfect execution.

📊 Visual That Explains Everything

• 📈 S&P 500 led global markets with a +16.9% annualized return (2015–2025).

• 🌎 Brazil, India, and Vietnam outperformed developed markets like the UK and Australia.

• 🇨🇳 China’s 2015 market crash still weighs on the Shanghai Composite a decade later.

🚀 Biggest Market Movers (Week Ending 25/04/2025)

📈 Top 3 Winners

• Tesla $TSLA ( ▲ 4.72% )  +23.7% – Musk's renewed focus and optimism around autonomous vehicle regulations.

• ServiceNow $NOW ( ▲ 0.57% )  +25% –Strong Q1 earnings and subscription growth.

• Charter Communications $CHTR ( ▼ 0.66% )  +11.4% – Beating earnings estimates and adding mobile subscribers.

📉 Top 3 Losers

• T-Mobile US $TMUS ( ▼ 1.49% ) -10.7% – Weaker-than-expected postpaid subscriber growth. (Source)

• Saia Inc. $SAIA ( ▼ 1.95% ) -25% – Crashed after missing Q1 earnings and warning on lower demand.

• Avantor Inc. $AVTR ( ▼ 2.12% ) -14.5% – Dropped on weak sales, guidance cut, and CEO resignation.

📅 Next Week in Review (April 29–May 3, 2025)

🌍 Key Economic Events

• Tuesday: Case-Shiller Home Prices, JOLTS

• Wednesday: GDP, PCE Inflation, ADP Jobs

• Thursday: Jobless Claims, ISM Manufacturing

• Friday: Non-Farm Payrolls (Jobs Report)

📊 Major Earnings to Watch

• Monday: Domino’s ($DPZ), NXP ($NXPI)

• Tuesday: Visa ($V), Coca-Cola ($KO), Pfizer ($PFE), UPS ($UPS), PayPal ($PYPL), Starbucks ($SBUX)

• Wednesday: Microsoft ($MSFT), Meta ($META), Qualcomm ($QCOM), Caterpillar ($CAT)

• Thursday: Apple ($AAPL), Amazon ($AMZN), Eli Lilly ($LLY), Airbnb ($ABNB), Block ($SQ)

• Friday: ExxonMobil ($XOM), Chevron ($CVX), Shell ($SHEL)