The major averages were sharply higher near noon amid increased optimism around trade, as well as a decrease in U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ended May 3. President Trump announced a new trade deal with Great Britain, has said the U.S. intends to “make a deal with Europe,” and appears open to lowering tariffs on China after talks with the country this weekend.

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In central bank news, the Bank of England lowered its Bank Rate just a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept the federal funds rate unchanged. Following the Fed’s move, Trump called Fed Chair Jerome Powell a “fool” for not lowering rates.

Looking to commodities, gold prices are lower once again, while oil prices are sharply higher amid U.S.-China trade optimism.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.

1. STOCK NEWS:

President Trump announced a trade agreement with the U.K. that he calls “full and comprehensive” Meanwhile, the Bank of England lowered its Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.25% Arm (ARM) reported better-than-expected Q4 results but provided a conservative outlook for Q1 Shopify (SHOP) reported upbeat Q1 revenue and provided guidance for Q2 Carvana (CVNA) reported better-than-expected Q1 results and provided its outlook for Q2

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

Sarepta (SRPT) downgraded at Evercore ISI Wedbush downgraded Uber (UBER) to Neutral on lack of catalysts Mosaic (MOS) upgraded at RBC Capital Archer Daniels (ADM) downgraded to Underperform at BofA amid “misplaced optimism” Centessa (CNTA) initiated with bullish view at Chardan

3. AROUND THE WEB:

Alibaba (BABA) is partnering with RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu, to allow users on RedNote to directly click on product links to shop on Alibaba’s Taobao platform, Reuters reports Baidu (BIDU) has filed a patent with the China National Intellectual Property Administration, CNIPA, that proposes a system to convert animal vocalizations into the human language, Reuters says Tesla’s (TSLA) effort to trademark the term “Robotaxi” in reference to its vehicles has been refused by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for being too generic, but its application to trademark the term “Robotaxi” for its upcoming ride-hailing service is still under examination by the office, TC reports Nestle (NSRGY) has selected Rothschild to advise on the sale of its water division later this year, Reuters reports Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang said in an interview on Tuesday that it would be a “tremendous loss” to be blocked from China’s AI market, CNBC reports

Story Continues

4. MOVERS:

Sezzle (SEZL) gains after reporting Q1 results and raising its guidance for FY25 QuidelOrtho (QDEL) increases after reporting Q1 results and commenting the company’s actions have been “sufficient” to mitigate tariff impacts Dave (DAVE) and D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) higher reporting quarterly results Compass Diversified (CODI) falls after announcing it will delay filing its 10-Q Aspen Aerogels (ASPN) and Liberty Latin America (LILAK) lower in New York after reporting quarterly results

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) reported Q1 results, with EPS and revenue missing consensus Tapestry (TPR) reported Q3 results and raised its guidance for FY25 Zillow Group (ZG) reported Q1 results, with CEO Jeremy Wacksman commenting that “strong Q1 results surpassed our expectations and demonstrate how well we’re executing” Peloton (PTON) reported Q3 results and provided guidance for FY25 SharkNinja (SN) reported Q1 results, with CEO Mark Barrocas saying the company “began 2025 with strong momentum”

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 1.35%, or 553.71, to 41,667.68, the Nasdaq was up 1.73%, or 306.14, to 18,044.31, and the S&P 500 was up 1.32%, or 74.32, to 5,705.60.

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J.P. Morgan Slashes China’s GDP Outlook on “Higher-than-Expected U.S. Tariffs” TipRanks’ All-Star Analyst – Who Is the Best on BABA Stock? Alibaba, content platform Rednote partner in China, Reuters reports Alibaba (BABA) and RedNote Team Up to Turn Social Browsing into Shopping Do Alibaba Stock’s (BABA) Technical Indicators Signal a ‘Buy’ Ahead of Q4 Earnings?

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