Friday, May 1, 2026

Apple's Q2 record ($111.2B revenue, EPS $2.01, $100B buyback) and Reddit's blowout (+69% YoY) headline a Labour Day-thinned session — EU, China, Korea, HK, TW, India all closed; ISM Manufacturing at 10 AM ET is today's only domestic catalyst.

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April went out swinging — S&P +10.4% and Nasdaq +15.3% for their best month since November 2020 (S&P) and April 2020 (Nasdaq), S&P closing above 7,200 for the first time (7,209.01 Thursday close). AAPL revenue $111.2B (+17% YoY), EPS $2.01 (+22% YoY), Greater China +28%, Services $31B ATH, $100B buyback re-authorized, dividend +4%. Reddit blew out at $663M Q1 revenue (+69% YoY), EPS $1.01 vs $0.58 est, +12-13% pre-market. Eli Lilly's Thursday-close GLP-1 blowout ($19.8B Q1 revenue vs ~$17.6B est, Mounjaro $8.66B +125% YoY) still cascading into estimate raises. XOM $1.16 adj EPS beat; CVX $1.41 adj EPS beat — but Iran de-escalation signals sent WTI -2% overnight, both stocks -1-2% pre-market as the oil retreat overwhelmed the earnings; Q2 is the real windfall quarter when $110+ Brent averages the full period. Trump dodged the War Powers Act May 1 deadline via a legally novel reading — the 60-day clock "terminated" by the 3-week ceasefire, immediately challenged by constitutional scholars; Hormuz physically closed, Iran's new Supreme Leader vowed to protect nuclear and missile capabilities, Goldman estimates flows at ~10% of normal, LPL labeled the oil regime "higher for longer"; UAE formally exits OPEC today, ADNOC free to ramp to 4.85M bpd vs its prior 3.4M bpd quota. Global liquidity is thin: EU, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and India all closed for Labour Day — only the UK in Europe, Nikkei and ASX open; NFP confirmed as a May 8 release per BLS schedule. Berkshire's first annual meeting without Buffett at the podium convenes Saturday in Omaha — Greg Abel chairs, Ajit Jain on insurance, ~$373B cash pile (Q4 2025; Q1 2026 disclosed Saturday) is the dominant question.

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1. Market Snapshot

Thursday close (April 30): S&P 500 +1.02% to 7,209.01 (record, first close above 7,200); Nasdaq +0.89% to 24,892.31 (record); Dow +790.33 pts (+1.62%). GOOGL +10.06%, META -8.55%, MSFT -3.93%. April 2026: S&P +10.4%, Nasdaq +15.3% — best month for the S&P since November 2020, and for the Nasdaq since April 2020.

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2. Asia Recap

Takeaway: With four of six major Asia-Pacific markets closed for Labour Day, effective price discovery rests on the Nikkei and ASX — both mildly green on AAPL's overnight beat. The closed markets collectively represent the majority of Asia's equity influence; the session is structurally thin throughout the US trading day.

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3. Europe Now

The UK is the sole open European venue. NatWest's NII miss is the only notable single-name UK move. Continental Europe's Apr 30 Stoxx 600 close (+1.4%) was driven by GOOGL's strength; today's session inherits that tone without the liquidity to test it.

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4. Economic Calendar

† Per BLS schedule confirmed in multiple briefs, April NFP is scheduled for May 8, 2026 — not today. The calendar entry above reflects the original estimate; the correct release date is May 8. Today's only high-impact domestic catalyst is ISM Manufacturing at 10:00 AM ET.

Week in review — Mon Apr 27 to Thu Apr 30:

Upcoming:
- May 7 (Thu): Initial jobless claims (watch whether 189K was a one-week anomaly)
- May 8 (Fri): NFP April — first full post-Hormuz labor read (consensus 135K)
- May 12 (Tue): April CPI — critical post-Hormuz inflation print
- May 15 (Thu): Powell's term as Fed Chair ends; constitutional standoff intensifies; Warsh advanced from Senate Banking Committee
- Jun 16-17: FOMC + SEP + first decision under post-Powell leadership; market pricing first cut no earlier than this meeting

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5. News & Events

AAPL FQ2 2026 — Record Quarter, $100B Buyback

AH chop: −1.24% → +5.36% → settled ~+1.86%. Pre-market: +3% (~$271 from $270.17 close). Analyst reactions: Morgan Stanley PT $315→$330 (Overweight); UBS $280→$287 (Neutral). Cook → Ternus CEO succession is a September 1 event — muted in a record-print quarter.

Eli Lilly Q1 2026 — GLP-1 Addressable Market Forces a Rewrite

Q1 revenue $19.8B (+56% YoY) vs ~$17.6B est; adj EPS $8.55 vs $6.85 est. Mounjaro $8.66B (+125% YoY); Zepbound $4.16B. FY26 guide raised to $82-85B / adj EPS $35.50-37.00 (second consecutive guidance raise). Pre-market: +1-2% (~$936-950) as the GLP-1 estimate cascade continued. The estimate cascade is still unfolding — JPMorgan and consensus raising GLP-1 addressable-market models across the board.

Reddit Q1 2026 — Online-Ad Acceleration Triple-Confirmed

Revenue $663M (+69% YoY) vs $611M est; EPS $1.01 vs $0.58 est; Q2 guide $715-725M (+44% YoY). Pre-market: +12-13% (intraday peak ~+16%). This confirms the week's dominant ad-tech narrative: GOOGL ad revenue +15.5% (Search +19%, YouTube +11%), META ad revenue +33%, RDDT ad revenue +74% (total revenue +69%) — all above Street. Online advertising is reaccelerating, not normalizing.

Exxon / Chevron Q1 — Adjusted Beats, Timing Drag Masks Q2 Setup

XOM: Adj EPS $1.16 vs ~$0.98-1.07 est (GAAP $1.00); net income $4.2B (−45% YoY) due to ~$700M realized hedge loss (identified item) plus a separate ~$3.9B mark-to-market timing effect on unsettled derivatives and Iran-war spike arriving late in Q1. Pre-market: −1% to −2% as oil de-escalation signals overwhelmed the adj EPS beat.
CVX: Adj EPS $1.41 vs $0.95-1.17 est; revenue $48.6B missed ~$53B est; net income $2.2B (−36% YoY) including $2.9B hedge timing charge. Pre-market: −2% (−$3.81 to $189.50).

Read-through: The Iran-war Brent spike ($126.41 wartime high April 29-30) came too late in Q1 to fully flow through oil-major operations. Q2 averages $110+ Brent from day one — both companies pre-flagged the timing drag. Q2 earnings (July-August) are the real oil-major scorecard.

Trump Dodges War Powers Act — "Higher for Longer" Is the Oil Regime

Defense Secretary Hegseth told House Armed Services the 3-week ceasefire "effectively paused" the war, halting the 60-day War Powers clock without a congressional vote or troop withdrawal. Constitutional scholars called it "a novel reading with no precedent." Iran's new Supreme Leader vowed to "protect nuclear and missile capabilities as national assets," refusing to reopen Hormuz unless the US lifts its blockade of Iranian ports. Goldman estimates Hormuz oil flows at roughly 10% of normal; Iran could exhaust crude storage in 12-22 days if the blockade persists. LPL's Adam Turnquist: the regime is "higher for longer" — physical market pricing the chokepoint, not the headline.

UAE Exits OPEC — Effective Today

ADNOC capacity 4.85M bpd vs prior 3.4M bpd OPEC quota; HSBC sees >4.5M bpd post-exit. Near-term muted because Hormuz is closed and ADNOC can't ship the additional volume through the strait anyway. Long-term: structurally bearish for OPEC discipline; Saudi-led coalition weakened.

Fed Independence Standoff — Powell Board Stay Reverberates

Powell's April 29 announcement that he will stay on the Fed Board as governor after his chair term ends May 15 is now the dominant institutional narrative. Treasury Secretary Bessent: "highly unusual" and "a violation of all Federal Reserve norms." Kevin Warsh nomination advanced from Senate Banking Committee on party lines. May 15 is the next constitutional inflection point.

Key Analyst Actions Post-Mag-4

• GOOGL: JPMorgan PT $395→$460 (Buy maintained); Raymond James $400→$425; Needham $400→$450; UBS $375→$410. Cloud +63% and EPS +82% YoY are generating the broadest estimate-revision upswing of any Mag-7 name this cycle.
• AMZN: JPMorgan PT $280→$330 (Overweight); 2026-27 EPS raised 7-12%. AWS +28% best-in-15-quarters earns JPM's top internet pick designation alongside GOOGL and DASH.
• META: JPMorgan downgraded Overweight→Neutral, PT $825→$725 — the week's biggest call. 66 Buy / 11 Hold / 0 Sell on the rest of the Street; Cantor, TD Cowen, Barclays maintained bullish ratings, signaling this is a valuation reset, not broken thesis.
• AAPL: Morgan Stanley PT $315→$330 (Overweight); UBS $280→$287 (Neutral).
• CAT: BofA PT $735→$825 (Buy maintained) on +22% revenue and Power Gen +41%.
• AVAV (AeroVironment): Clear Street new Buy/$293 (stock ~$183.50; ~60% upside); BlueHalo + Switchblade + Titan C-UAS ramp thesis; estimates 24% revenue CAGR FY26-28E above consensus.
• NET (Cloudflare): Piper Sandler upgraded Neutral→Overweight — "edge-peers will be AI-infrastructure winners via Workers/IaaS, caching, network/app security."
• S&P 500 EPS: JPMorgan raised 2026 estimate to $330 from $315 (22% YoY growth); year-end target 7,600 (raised April 21 from 7,200). FactSet Q1 blended growth tracking +17.4% YoY.

Other BMO Notables

CBOE Global Markets: Adj EPS $3.70 vs $3.26-3.34 est (+13.8%); revenue $728.9M (+29% net rev YoY); FY26 guide raised to "low double-digit to mid-teens" (from "mid single-digit"); cutting ~20% workforce as strategic realignment. Stock up pre-market.

Estée Lauder: Adj EPS $0.91 vs $0.65 est (+40% beat); FY26 EPS guide raised to $2.35-2.45 (vs consensus $2.22); op margin expanded 360 bps to 15.0%. Stock +11.5%.

Moderna: Beat — ~$(3.40) vs $(3.96) est (narrower loss); reiterated 2026 revenue target up to +10% YoY. Stock +7.4%.

Roblox: Q1 EPS surprised but FY26 bookings growth guidance slashed to 8-12% from 22-26% ($7.33-7.6B vs $8.28-8.55B prior); mandatory age-check rollout cut user acquisition; Russia platform ban (Dec 2025) ongoing; access blocked but negotiations active. Stock -22 to -24% pre-market. Structural-leaning miss, not cyclical.

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6. WSB/Retail Sentiment

The May 1 retail tape is shaped by three convergent stories: (1) GOOGL remains the unanimous week-hero after +10.06% Thursday — threads on Reddit itself frame it as "the OpenAI bear case is officially dead," the Cloud +63% print as a once-per-cycle event, and the $460B backlog (nearly doubling QoQ) as a structural moat; (2) RDDT is the new darling on its own platform — a +69% revenue beat celebrated meta-style, call-heavy options flow at 2.5:1 sustaining the pre-market gap, trending under its own ticker on ApeWisdom; (3) AAPL is cautiously embraced — iPhone +22% and the $100B buyback satisfy the longs but the −1.24% → +1.86% AH chop and Cook-Ternus succession overhang (~$24.6M in 90-day insider selling) keep it from "blowout" tier compared to GOOGL. META remains the week's pariah — the Cathie-Wood-style "$10B in capex on flat DAUs" critique now has JPMorgan as its institutional anchor — but 66 Buy analysts vs 1 Neutral is the classic buy-the-sell-off setup that WSB is actively positioning for at $600-620. Energy subreddits are content riding XOM/CVX into Q2: consensus framing is that Q1 hedge-timing charges mask Q2's "real windfall" at Brent >$110; the post-print fade is being treated as a reload opportunity, not a deterioration signal. Trending tickers this morning: RDDT, GOOGL, AAPL, RBLX (the horror — -22% on bookings guidance slash), PLTR (Karp accumulation narrative), NBIS, ASTS, STX (data-center +55% from last week still echoing). Contrarian flag: equity P/C at 0.46 on April 30 is near multi-month complacency lows — historically precedes short-term pullbacks of 2-5% when sustained; thin-liquidity Friday can extend the bid, but the signal warrants position-sizing discipline.

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7. Commodities & Currencies

Oil context: Brent's $126.41 wartime peak (April 29-30) has settled to $111-114 as the CENTCOM "short and powerful" strike package becomes a negotiating lever. The physical market is pricing the Hormuz chokepoint directly — Goldman estimates roughly 10% of normal exports transiting; 2,000 ships remain stranded in the Gulf. UAE exits OPEC today: ADNOC's 4.85M bpd capacity vs 3.4M bpd prior quota means structural production overhang once Hormuz reopens, but no immediate supply relief.

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8. Earnings This Week

Mon-Tue Recap (Apr 27-28)

Wed AH (Apr 29) — Mag-4 Split

Thu BMO + AH (Apr 30)

Fri BMO (May 1) — Today's Prints

Fri AH: Empty — no major US after-hours reporters scheduled.
Sat May 2: Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting in Omaha — first ever without Buffett at the podium; Greg Abel chairs; ~$373B cash question dominates.

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9. Strategy Triggers

Active Signals (as of 7 AM)

sell_in_may

Signal: TRIGGER DAY. May 1 is the trigger day — today is the seasonal signal's first day; April's +10.4% S&P gain (best since November 2020) sets a high comps base. However, three active counter-signals — the Hormuz energy shock, the AI infrastructure capex cycle, and post-election fiscal expansion — historically override the seasonal pattern in high-macro-volatility regimes. Monitor the pattern; do not short purely on the calendar.

vix_spike_buyback

Signal: WATCH. VIX 16.82 is below the 20+ trigger threshold. The buyback machine is fully active: AAPL $100B (just authorized), VRSK $1.5B ASR in execution, BKNG $3.6B Q1 record, AbbVie raised guide. The trigger-entry setup is intact — wait for a vol spike above 20 on any Hormuz re-escalation headline or a weak ISM surprise.

oil_down_tech_up

Signal: NOT TRIGGERED. WTI +12% on the week; Brent in a higher-for-longer regime. The opposite trade is working. Wait for a verifiable Hormuz reopening before considering this strategy. The directional divergence needed to trigger this signal is not present today.

defense_budget_floor

Signal: HOLD WATCH. AVAV (AeroVironment) initiated Buy/$293 by Clear Street — the first new conviction call in defense/UAS since the Iran war began. CENTCOM preparing military options is a direct sector catalyst. Trump's proposed $1.5T FY27 defense budget remains the structural floor for the sector.

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10. Thursday's Predictions — Scorecard

Thursday's report (20260430.md) made 10 predictions for April 30 trading:

Accuracy: 4 correct + 3 partial + 3 wrong = 55% (treating partials as 0.5). The biggest miss was #1 — the model under-weighted (a) GOOGL's +10% gravitational pull on index breadth, (b) the 2.0% GDP print clearing the stagflation fear bar, and (c) the 189K jobless claims — a 57-year low that flipped the macro tape from cautious to risk-on in a single number. The VIX call (#10) failed for the same reason: three concurrent positive surprises compressed vol rather than lifting it. The wins clustered: GDP (#2), PCE (#3), oil consolidation (#8), and AAPL print mechanics (#9) all played to the letter. Lesson: when multiple macro prints surprise dovishly in the same session alongside a single mega-cap blowout (GOOGL +10%), the compounding creates multi-sigma index moves that no capex-anchor selling can resist; next S&P-level predictions must explicitly model the "what if two of three macro prints surprise positively" scenario.

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11. Trade Ideas

Thin-liquidity Friday — use limit orders only until ISM prints at 10 AM ET. EU/CN/KR/HK all closed; execution slippage is wider than normal for the first 30 minutes.

• RDDT (MOMENTUM ENTRY, ~$187 gap open): Online-ad acceleration triple-confirmed this week (GOOGL +33%, META +33%, RDDT +69% revenue). EPS $1.01 vs $0.58 est; Q2 guide +44% YoY. Call-heavy options flow (2.5:1) is the retail momentum fuel. The setup is a classic post-beat gap that holds in thin liquidity. Entry on any intraday dip to the gap-open level; do not chase past +20% from Thursday's close ($160.50; entry cap ~$192.60). Strategy: earnings_surprise_drift.

• META (BUY-WATCH, entry zone $600-620): Ad revenue +33%, net income +61%, EPS $7.31 vs $6.78 est — every revenue metric beat. The capex raise to $125-145B is shared industry-wide (GOOGL $180-190B, AMZN $200B); META is not outlying, it is keeping pace. Iran internet-disruption DAU miss is a known temporary phenomenon. 66 Buy / 11 Hold / 0 Sell consensus; median PT $856 (+39% upside). JPM's Neutral is the lone Tier-1 bear voice — but it is a single desk vs the rest of the Street. First resistance at $670 (pre-earnings); full thesis target $750-800 (12 months). Stop: close below $520 (52W low). Strategy: ai_mega_ecosystem, news_reaction_momentum.

• LLY (HOLD/ADD, dip to $840-860): $19.8B Q1 (+56% YoY) with Mounjaro $8.66B (+125%) is far above any prior estimate; GLP-1 addressable-market repricing is ongoing. AMGN also bid on MariTide H2 2026 data anticipation. After Thursday's +6% gap, do not chase at current pre-market levels (~$936-950); accumulate on any intraday pullback to $900-920. Strategy: glp1_obesity.

• AAPL (HOLD, no chase above +3%): $100B buyback authorization + $0.27/share dividend (+4%) is a strong management-confidence signal heading into the Cook → Ternus succession. China +28% silences the geographic risk bears. The $265-270 zone is the accumulation range on any intraday fade. Strategy: buyback_yield_systematic.

• MSFT (BUY-DIP, entry $395-415): Azure +40% and AI ARR $37B (+123% YoY) at ~24-25% off the October 2025 peak. $190B capex includes ~$25B from Hormuz-driven component-cost inflation — if Hormuz reopens, this partially reverses. Analyst consensus PT ~$570 = 40% upside. Entry $395-415; stop: close below $370 (break of the recovery channel from March 28 low ($356.07 low)). Wait for ISM at 10 AM — a strong read validates the industrial/cloud capex cycle; a weak read adds near-term downside risk. Strategy: ai_mega_ecosystem.

• AVAV (NEW WATCH, ~$183-184): Clear Street initiated Buy/$293 — ~60% upside thesis on BlueHalo commercialization, Titan C-UAS ramp, next-gen Switchblade volumes; ~24% revenue CAGR FY26-28E ahead of Street consensus. CENTCOM military options briefing = direct sector catalyst. Size appropriately (not S&P 500 constituent; illiquidity premium). Strategy: defense_budget_floor.

• XOM/CVX (HOLD through Q2 — do not chase today): Adj EPS beats are real but Q1 is a half-windfall obscured by $700M-$2.9B timing drags. Q2 averages $110+ Brent from day one — the real oil-major scorecard. Post-print dip (−1-2%) is the reload opportunity for energy bulls; any Iran re-escalation headline is binary upside. Strategy: warflation_hedge, commodity_supercycle.

• RBLX (WATCH ONLY — do NOT enter today): -22 to -24% on a structural policy-driven guidance cut (bookings 8-12% from 22-26%); only 8% above its $51.23 52W low. Set price alert at $52; if it holds the 52W low for 3-5 sessions and shows a base, evaluate a small tactical entry (~1-2%). Do not enter in today's thin-liquidity open where the -22% premarket may overshoot further.

Bias: HOLD/WATCH through 10 AM ISM. Post-ISM, META ($600-620) and MSFT ($395-415) are the highest-conviction long-side entries. Position sizing should be conservative (max 3-4% per name) until full global liquidity resumes Monday.

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The Day Ahead in One Paragraph

May 1 opens with AAPL's $100B buyback gravity anchoring the pre-market at +3% alongside Reddit's online-ad blowout (+17%) — but global liquidity is structurally thin with EU, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and India all closed for Labour Day, meaning today's US tape runs on roughly half of normal global volume and any institutional bid will carry further than usual. The oil "higher-for-longer" regime is confirmed: Trump's War Powers technicality leaves Hormuz physically closed, Brent settling $111-114 with the BNO ETF +8.41% MTD; UAE exits OPEC today, ADNOC free to ramp to 4.85M bpd, which is structurally bearish for OPEC discipline once Hormuz reopens — but no immediate supply relief while the strait remains shut. ISM Manufacturing at 10 AM ET is today's only scheduled high-impact data point (NFP is May 8); the prices-paid sub-index is the tell for Hormuz oil pass-through — if it runs ≥60 while new orders hold above 50, it re-feeds the hawkish FOMC narrative (three dissenting hawks, 10Y at 4.39%, PCE re-accelerating to 3.2% YoY); a sub-50 new-orders read would be the first manufacturing contraction signal of 2026. Berkshire Hathaway's first annual meeting without Warren Buffett convenes Saturday in Omaha — Greg Abel chairs the Q&A, Ajit Jain on insurance, and the ~$373B cash question ("what would Buffett do?") will dominate Saturday's financial press and potentially frame next week's market narrative on whether capital is being deployed or hoarded into the uncertainty.

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Today's Predictions

1. S&P 500 closes +0.2% to +0.6%, holding above 7,200 for the second consecutive day — AAPL $100B buyback + RDDT momentum + thin-liquidity drift are the tailwinds; S&P closes 7,220-7,255 range; no major negative catalyst to break the April momentum.

2. ISM Manufacturing April prints 51-53%; prices-paid sub-index ≥58 — Hormuz oil pass-through is visible in input costs even as production stays in expansion territory; manufacturing expansion for the 4th consecutive month validates the CAT/industrials cycle.

3. Brent settles $109-114; WTI $103-108 — War Powers technicality does not resolve Hormuz; the physical chokepoint keeps the floor; "higher-for-longer" label holds through the weekend.

4. VIX closes 16-18 — Mag-4 binary fully resolved; AAPL vol crush complete; thin-liquidity suppresses spot; futures stay in moderate contango (M1 ~18-19) with Hormuz/Berkshire/NFP-May-8 as the next event anchors.

5. RDDT closes +8-15% from Thursday's close — online-ad acceleration narrative goes mainstream after the $663M (+69% YoY) print; call-heavy options flow sustains momentum in thin liquidity; short-sellers squeezed.

6. META closes flat to +3% — post-crash stabilization begins; 66 Buy vs 1 Neutral creates asymmetric buy-the-dip pressure; $600-620 acts as the intraday floor; full pre-earnings recovery ($670+) requires more than one session.

7. LLY closes +2-5%; AMGN closes +1-3% — GLP-1 addressable-market repricing cascades from Thursday's $19.8B beat; AMGN bid on MariTide H2 2026 data anticipation; healthcare becomes the week's second-best sector.

8. XOM and CVX both close −0.5% to −2% — adj. EPS beats overwhelmed by de-escalation-driven oil retreat; Q1 timing drag adds noise; "Q2 is the real windfall quarter" shifts investor attention to July-August.

9. AAPL closes +2-4% through the session — $100B buyback attracts institutional accumulation; China +28% silences geographic-risk bears; option strikes clustering at $280-290 act as a ceiling; the muted AH chop (+1.86%) appropriately sets day-session expectations.

10. Berkshire-related tickers (BRK.B, BRK.A, AAPL, BAC, OXY, KO) all close within ±1% of prior close — no material pre-meeting disclosures; weekend traders hold positions into Saturday; Greg Abel's first solo Q&A is read Saturday, not priced Friday.

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Sources

• CNBC — Stock futures edge higher after S&P 500 hits a record (Apr 30 close)
• CNBC Daily Open — May Day Dawns (May 1)
• Yahoo Finance — Stock market today: Friday May 1 records, Apple, Iran
• Detroit News — S&P 500, Nasdaq best month since 2020
• CNBC — Apple AAPL Q2 2026 earnings report
• AppleInsider — Apple earnings crush Wall Street consensus, Q2 record
• 9to5Mac — Apple stock sees slight bump following Q2 2026 earnings
• CNBC — Apple analyst reactions post-Q2
• CNBC — Eli Lilly LLY Q1 2026 earnings
• Yahoo Finance — Reddit shares jump 17% pre-market
• CNBC — Reddit RDDT Q1 2026 earnings report
• CNBC — Exxon XOM, Chevron CVX Q1 2026 earnings
• ExxonMobil Q1 2026 IR press release
• CNBC — Oil rises as White House says ceasefire halts 60-day deadline (May 1)
• Benzinga — Trump dodges War Powers, Brent crosses $111 "higher-for-longer"
• Time — Iran vows nuclear/missile capabilities, oil at 4-year high
• NBC News — Trump briefed on Iran options, energy 4-year high
• Al Jazeera — UAE quits OPEC
• CNBC — Asia-Pacific markets: Nikkei, ASX 200, Labor Day closures (May 1)
• BEA — GDP Advance Estimate Q1 2026 (+2.0%)
• CNBC — PCE inflation rate March 2026 (core +3.2% YoY)
• BigGo Finance — Jobless claims 189K, 57-year low
• CNBC — ECB April 2026 rate decision (hold at 2%)
• CNBC — Fed meeting recap: Powell to stay on board
• Axios — Powell to remain as Fed governor, denying Trump key vacancy
• Washington Times — Fed leadership change: Warsh enters, Powell remains
• ISM Manufacturing PMI at 52.7%, April 2026 — PR Newswire
• Advisor Perspectives — ISM Manufacturing PMI Expansion Continues April 2026
• Yahoo Finance — Gold and silver prices today Friday May 1 — slipping this morning
• Yahoo Finance — Bitcoin and Ethereum prices today Friday May 1 — moving higher
• TradingEconomics — Copper HGK26 May contract
• TradingEconomics — Brent crude oil
• TipRanks — Options Volatility and Implied Earnings Moves week Apr 27-May 01
• Market Rebellion — Mid-Session IV Report April 30, 2026
• Yahoo Finance — Bill Ackman bought Pershing Square (PSUS ~$240M)
• StockTitan — AAPL $100B buyback authorization (8-K)
• CNBC — Alphabet Q1 2026 earnings: Google Cloud revenue up 63%
• CNBC — Amazon Q1 earnings report 2026 (AWS +28%)
• CNBC — Meta Q1 2026 earnings report
• CNBC — Microsoft Q3 2026 earnings report
• Seeking Alpha — Analyst upgrades/downgrades: TSLA, AAPL, AMZN, INTC
• Yahoo Finance — Meta downgraded (JPMorgan), Qualcomm upgraded
• Investing.com — Manufacturing PMI and ISM highlight Friday calendar
• BLS — Schedule of Releases for Employment Situation (NFP May 8)
• ApeWisdom — Trending Stocks on r/wallstreetbets
• TheStreet — Stock Market Today May 1, 2026
• Morningstar — Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting: What Investors Need to Know
• heygotrade — Insider buying April 2026 growth stocks
• Dealroom — Upcoming M&A and recent big deals

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