MARKET WRAPS
STOCKS: U.S. stocks rose and the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hit a new record highson strong earnings and as the U.S. downplayed tensions in the Middle East.
TREASURYS: Treasury yields fell as inflation fears subsided.
FOREX: The U.S. dollar ticked up against rivals after relatively strong U.S. economic data.
COMMODITIES: Oil futures fell after U.S. officials said Iranian strikes didn't mark the end of the cease-fire as the U.S. carries out an operation to help get vessels though the Strait of Hormuz.
HEADLINES
U.S. Services-Sector Activity Continued to Expand in April
U.S. services-sector activity continued to rise in April though price pressures from the war in Iran weighed on growth, a survey of managers found.
The Institute for Supply Management's purchasing managers index for services providers was 53.6 compared with 54.0 in March. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected a reading of 54.0. A reading above 50 suggests economic growth, while one below 50 indicates contraction.
The prices index held steady at 70.7 in April from March, the highest figure since October 2022. The supplier deliveries index also indicated slower performance compared with March, the survey said.
Anthropic Releases New AI Agents for Financial Services Firms
Anthropic is releasing new AI agents tailored to banks and other financial services businesses-part of the artificial intelligence company's plan to expand its reach among enterprise customers as it charts a path to an anticipated initial public offering as early as this year.
On Tuesday, the company announced 10 new AI agents that help automate what it described as the most common forms of financial work, among them, building pitchbooks, closing the books and drafting credit memos.
Earlier this week, Anthropic partnered with Fidelity National Information Services to develop AI-driven software that would help banks police accounts for signs of financial crimes. The company also unveiled a $1.5 billion joint venture with Wall Street firms to sell AI tools to companies-including those backed by private equity.
SEC Proposes to Eliminate Quarterly Reporting Requirement for Public Companies
The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed amendments that would give public companies the option to file reports semiannually, rather than on a quarterly basis as required by federal securities laws.
Under the SEC's proposed amendments, public companies could choose to file one semiannual report and one annual report for each fiscal year in lieu of three quarterly reports and one annual report. The proposal is subject to a public comment period of 60 days, the SEC said, after which the regulator will vote on it.
The proposed amendments aim to give companies greater flexibility to choose the reporting frequency that is best for them and their investors, the SEC said.
U.S. New Home Sales Rose in March
The rate of new home sales rose in March. Here are the main takeaways from the delayed report released by the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development Tuesday:
-Sales of new single-family homes rose to 682,000 in March, from 635,000 in February.
-A consensus of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected 660,000 sales in March.
U.S. Trade Deficit Grew in March
U.S. imports rose faster than exports in March, pushing up the U.S. trade deficit, according to data published by the Commerce Department Tuesday.
U.S. imports totaled $381.2 billion in March, up 2.3% from February, while exports were $320.9 billion, 2% greater than in February.
That yielded a trade deficit of $60.3 billion, versus $57.8 billion in February. Analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal were expecting a $60.9 billion monthly deficit.
Pfizer Posts Better-Than-Expected Revenue, Profit
Higher sales of cancer treatments helped fuel better-than-expected first-quarter sales and profit for drugmaker Pfizer.
Pfizer also reaffirmed its sales and profit forecast for full-year 2026. Its shares rose 0.7% in premarket trading.
Pfizer is trying to recover from a postpandemic hangover in which demand for its Covid-19 vaccine and treatment have plummeted. The company is developing new medicines and has made acquisitions-including a big bet on weight-loss drugs-aimed at returning to solid growth, but it could take some time to see if those bets pay off.
PayPal to Cut 20% of Staff Amid Turnaround Push
PayPal plans to cut 20% of its staff over the next two to three years, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The job eliminations are part of PayPal's new plans to accelerate its adoption of artificial intelligence and cut costs. The planned reduction would amount to 4,760 positions based on the 23,800 employees PayPal reported having at the end of 2025.
The layoffs were reported earlier by Bloomberg.
Rockwell Automation Raises Outlook on Higher Sales
Rockwell Automation has boosted its full-year outlook after posting higher profit and sales in its fiscal second quarter.
The industrial automation company on Tuesday posted a profit of $350 million, or $3.10 a share, in the quarter ended March 31, compared with $252 million, or $2.22 a share, a year earlier.
Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted per-share earnings were $3.30, ahead of the $2.88 anticipated by analysts, according to FactSet.
TALKING POINT SEC Says It Is 'Carefully' Monitoring Problems in Private Credit
The Securities and Exchange Commission is actively monitoring the private credit sector in light of the recent turmoil in the market, the head of the agency said this week. The disruptions include loan defaults, plunging stock prices of alternative asset managers, and firms blocking redemption requests from investors.
In remarks at a conference convened by the Milken Institute, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said the agency is investigating potential fraud in private credit, but said that the commission and other regulators don't believe the sector poses a systemic risk to the broader financial market.
"We're monitoring it carefully with our colleagues at the Treasury and elsewhere-the Fed and whatnot," he said. "We're taking it seriously."
Following news from BlueOwl and others of surging redemption requests that in the case of that firm prompted it to halt returning capital to investors, there has been a debate about what the spillover effects could be from the stresses in the private credit sector.
So far, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, a consortium of regulators including the SEC that evaluate risks to the financial system, doesn't believe concerns about private credit rise to that level, Atkins said.
He also took the occasion to praise the role of private markets more broadly, noting that private lending has enabled many businesses that wouldn't be eligible for conventional bank loans to obtain capital.
One of Atkins' mantras as the head of the SEC has been his aim to "make IPOs great again," including efforts to simplify corporate reporting requirements and shield public companies from activist investors and litigation risks.
--Kenneth Corbin, Barron's
Expected Major Events for Wednesday
06:00/JPN: Mar Revised Machine Tool Orders
06:00/RUS: Apr Russian Services PMI
06:45/FRA: Mar Industrial production index
07:45/ITA: Apr Italy Services PMI
07:50/FRA: Apr France Services PMI
07:55/GER: Apr Germany Services PMI
08:00/ITA: Mar Retail Sales
08:30/UK: Apr UK Official Reserves
08:30/UK: Apr S&P Global UK Services PMI
10:00/FRA: Mar OECD CPI
11:00/US: 05/01 MBA Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey
12:15/US: Apr ADP National Employment Report
12:30/CAN: Mar Stocks of Canadian grain at March 31
14:00/US: Mar State Employment and Unemployment
14:00/CAN: Apr Ivey Purchasing Managers Index
14:30/US: 05/01 EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report
15:00/US: Apr Global Services PMI
17:59/UK: Mar Adzuna UK Job Market Report
23:50/JPN: Apr Monetary Base
All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Wednesday
Apollo Global Management Inc $(APO)$ is expected to report $1.75 for 1Q.
Archrock Inc $(AROC)$ is expected to report $0.46 for 1Q.
Astec Industries Inc $(ASTE)$ is expected to report $0.69 for 1Q.
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc $(BCRX)$ is expected to report $0.04 for 1Q.
Bioventus Inc $(BVS)$ is expected to report $-0.01 for 1Q.
CVS Health Corp $(CVS)$ is expected to report $1.90 for 1Q.
Carter's Inc $(CRI)$ is expected to report $0.10 for 1Q.
Clean Harbors Inc (CLH) is expected to report $1.14 for 1Q.
Deluxe Corp $(DLX)$ is expected to report $0.57 for 1Q.
Exelon Corp $(EXC)$ is expected to report $0.88 for 1Q.
Fastenal Co $(FAST)$ is expected to report.
Freshpet Inc (FRPT) is expected to report $0.10 for 1Q.
Global Payments Inc $(GPN)$ is expected to report $0.97 for 1Q.
HNI Corp (HNI) is expected to report $0.29 for 1Q.
ITT Inc $(ITT)$ is expected to report $1.60 for 1Q.
InMode Ltd $(INMD)$ is expected to report $0.26 for 1Q.
InnSuites Hospitality Trust (IHT) is expected to report for 4Q.
J&J Snack Foods Corp $(JJSF)$ is expected to report $0.35 for 2Q.
Kraft Heinz Co $(KHC)$ is expected to report $0.50 for 1Q.
Larimar Therapeutics Inc $(LRMR)$ is expected to report $-0.50 for 1Q.
Lineage Inc (LINE) is expected to report for 1Q.
Littelfuse Inc $(LFUS)$ is expected to report $2.84 for 1Q.
Loblaw Cos Ltd (L.T,LBLCF) is expected to report $0.51 for 1Q.
Louisiana-Pacific Corp $(LPX)$ is expected to report $0.14 for 1Q.
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc $(MDGL)$ is expected to report $-4.23 for 1Q.
Maplebear Inc $(CART)$ is expected to report $0.57 for 1Q.
Marriott International Inc $(MAR)$ is expected to report $2.55 for 1Q.
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May 05, 2026 16:34 ET (20:34 GMT)
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