Asia Market Quick Take – 14 May, 2026

Asia Market Quick Take – 14 May, 2026

Key points:

• Macro: US PPI jumped to 1.4% vs 0.5% forecast
• Equities:SP500 and Nasdaq hit fresh highs
• FX: USD strengthens after hot PPI data
• Commodities: Copper gains for 8^th straight session
• Fixed income: Yields climb on signs of inflationary pressures

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Disclaimer: Past performance does not indicate future performance.

Macro:

• US producer prices rose 1.4% month-on-month in April 2026, the biggest gain since March 2022 and above the 0.5% forecast, with goods up 2% (including a 15.6% jump in gasoline) and services up 1.2%. Year-on-year, headline PPI increased 6%. Core PPI (excluding food and energy) climbed 1% on the month and 5.2% on the year, both above expectations.
• The Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair by a 54-45 margin, the slimmest confirmation in history for the position. Warsh officially starts on May 14.
• Oil inventories are falling around the world at a record pace and will continue to drop for months as the disruption to Middle East supplies from the Iran war intensifies, according to the International Energy Agency.
• President Trump arrived in Beijing for his first meeting with China's Xi Jinping on Thursday. Trump downplayed the amount of attention the Iran conflict would get during the summit, saying he would prioritize trade talks.

Equities:

• US: US equity indexes closed mixed on Wednesday as communication services and technology sectors led gains amid the fastest annual pace of growth in producer prices in four years. The Nasdaq jumped 1.2% to 26,402.34 and the S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to 7,444.25, both hitting fresh record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% to 49,693.20. Cisco Systems surged as much as 19% in after-hours trading after delivering a better-than-anticipated sales forecast of $16.7 billion to $16.9 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter and announcing plans to cut fewer than 4,000 jobs. Marvell shares closed up 8.2% to $177.95 for a new record high. Nvidia, Tesla, and Apple executives joined President Trump's business delegation to China.Cerebras Systems raised $5.55bn in its US IPO, pricing at $185 a share for a c.$40bn valuation, after orders exceeded 20x the shares on offer.
• EU: European stocks rebounded on Wednesday with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rising 0.8% to 611.36. Technology stocks led the market higher as ASML Holding rose 4.8%, the biggest contributor to the index, tracking gains in Korean chipmakers. Merck KGaA rallied 6.8% as its results showed strong momentum in life sciences. The FTSE 100 rose 0.6% to 10,325.35, with British American Tobacco contributing the most to the index gain by increasing 3.7%. Germany's DAX advanced 0.8% to 24,136.81, with Infineon Technologies having the largest increase at 10.7%. Mining stocks hit a new record as copper gained for an eighth consecutive session on fears of a supply squeeze.
• Asia: Asian equity markets showed mixed performance on Wednesday and opened higher on Thursday. South Korea's Kospi rose 2.6% to close at 7,844.01 on Wednesday, hitting a fresh all-time high as local retail investors bought into a wave of selling by foreign funds. Memory chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rebounded during the day to end 1.8% and 7.7% higher respectively. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.8% or 529.54 points to 63,272.11 on Wednesday, striking a fresh all-time high as a strong earnings season continued. SoftBank Group rose 1.7% after 4Q net profit more than tripled and beat estimates, lifted by OpenAI‑linked gains.This morning, the Nikkei opened flat at 63,263.46 while the Kospi opened 0.4% higher at 7,873.91. Equity-index futures for Japan and South Korea advanced after US benchmarks closed at record highs. Alibaba and Tencent ADRs surged despite each company reporting revenue that fell short of estimates. 

Earnings this week:

• Thursday: Applied materials, Honda, Singapore Airlines

FX:

• The dollar advanced versus most Group-of-10 peers for a third straight session as US headline and core PPI readings both exceeded estimates. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose about 0.1%.
• The euro lost 0.23% to $1.1715, down for three straight sessions and hitting the lowest five pm New York rate since Tuesday, May 5, 2026. The currency faced downside pressure from diverging labor markets as euro-area employment indicators showed signs of strain.
• The Chinese yuan extended a multi-day rally both onshore and offshore ahead of the Trump-Xi summit. USD/CNH fell for a 10th day to 6.7876, the longest losing streak since September 2017, defying US dollar strength.
• The Japanese yen weakened with the dollar gaining 0.17% to 157.88 yen, up for three straight sessions. The return of dollar-yen to almost 158 suggests more intervention may be needed if Tokyo wants to curtail short sentiment toward the Japanese currency.
• Sterling lost 0.12% to $1.3524, down for three straight sessions and hitting the lowest five pm New York rate since Wednesday, April 29, 2026. The British pound was among worst performers in the Group of 10 amid rising uncertainty over UK leadership.

Commodities:

• Oil slipped in volatile trading with WTI falling 1.1% to settle at $101.02 a barrel on Wednesday, snapping a three-session winning streak. Traders awaited the pivotal Trump-Xi meeting while fresh US data suggested stockpiles have yet to drop to critical levels.
• Gold held a decline near $4,700 an ounce after dropping 0.6% on Wednesday as a resurgence in US inflation reinforced bets the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer. Treasury 10-year yields rose toward the highest since July.
• Copper gained for an eighth consecutive session on fears of a supply squeeze. The copper cash-to-three-month spread on the London Metal Exchange increased $18.58 from the previous trading day to -$43.52 a ton on May 13.

Fixed income:

• The 30-year Treasury bond auction was awarded at 5.046%, the highest monthly result since 2007, versus a 5.041% when-issued yield at the bidding deadline. The auction tailed slightly, reflecting weaker-than-expected demand. The 30-year yield rose 0.017 percentage point to 5.046%.
• Treasuries ended narrowly mixed with the curve steeper around a little-changed 10-year sector at 4.47%. Long-end tenors weakened during US morning as investors set up for the bond auction, leaving yields in the sector about 2bp cheaper on the day.
• Japanese government bond yields rose as the 30-year JGB sale shaped up to be a tough one after the US sold similar-duration Treasuries at 5%. Long-term Japanese investors may decide it is worth waiting for JGBs to reach 4% before jumping in, which with the current trajectory could arrive before the end of June.

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