Let's bring in Max Kentner, HSBC's chief multi-asset strategist to talk about this close. Max, you know, I sit here the S&P 500 at 6142. It's a couple of points from the closing high from February 19th.Uh does it make sense that we're back here. Yeah. Um I think it does.It absolutely does because when we look at the earnings picture, that actually uh does really still look resoundingly good. And when we look particularly at uh forward earnings, when we look at Q2 earnings expectation, it is actually bizarre ...

S&P as we've noted, is less than 1% from an all time high. Joining us now Carol Schleiff, BMO, BMO Private Wealth Chief Market Strategist the. Carol, it's good to see you the way the way that the journal I like summarized what Powell told lawmakers yesterday.It's kind of indicative of I think what we're talking about, he said, yeah, recent economic data would have likely justified some cuts, good cuts, I think because of inflation, not necessarily for because of bad reasons for weakness. However, higher tar ...

Walk on the street. I'm Steve Leeman. The big Fed news of the morning, of course, is Fed Chair Powell in his testimony before Congress pushing back against the possibility of a July rate cut from two of his committee members.More on that in just a second. But first, we have new comments from Cleveland President Beth Hammock adding to the chair's view that rates should remain on hold. She says she does not see economic weakening that would merit rate cuts.The risk to maintaining current policy, she says, app ...

This morning, our next guest does expect a rate cut to come in September. Joining us this morning to discuss is Evercore ISI Vice Chair Krishna Guha. Christian, welcome back. Good to see you again. Great to see you. Doesn't sound like you expect any change today, even on the dots. But what kind of soft guidance do you think he might give about the fall? Look, I think that the Fed's going to stay very much in wait and see mode today. Now, we've had some interesting data come in, right? The top tier data for ...

There's a number of big questions we don't know the answers to. We don't know whether the US is going to get involved. We don't know what kind of escalation we're going to be seeing. We don't know what the Fed is going to do a little bit later on.Is today just a day for sitting on your hands. Do you have a clear sense of direction. I think we're just waiting to the Fed in the short term.And I think this Fed meeting is really interesting in the short term and for day traders, I think there'll be quite a bit ...

The Fed's latest round of projections released Wednesday will include the muchstudied dot plot. It's a chart updated quarterly that shows each Fed officials prediction about the direction of the central bank's benchmark interest rate. Our next guest, however, is in the camp of no cuts from the Fed for the remainder of the year.We got Kenny Pulcari here, a Slatestone Wealth chief market strategist and host of the Yahoo Finance podcast, Trader Talk. So, each one of those little dots represents a member of the ...

Market Trends & Geopolitical Impact - Oil prices initially surged to their highest level since January but pulled back following signals from Iran about de-escalating tensions and potential nuclear talks [1][18][20][21] - Defense stocks continued to climb amid the Israel-Iran conflict, though analysts suggest investor behavior is more of a "safe haven" move than a direct correlation to company bottom lines [1][70][71][72] - The Paris Air Show is expected to be muted due to the ongoing conflict and a recent Air India crash, with Boeing CEO skipping the event [59][61] Economic Indicators & Fed Policy - The market is shifting focus to Fed policy, earnings, and factors impacting the earnings picture, with the FOMC meeting being a key event [5][8] - There's discussion around the potential for a dovish Fed pivot, driven by inflation being cooler than in 2019 when the Fed last cut rates [35][36] - Real-time housing inflation is falling, suggesting the official measure has room to decline, potentially signaling a green light for the Fed to turn dovish [38][39] Company Specific & Sector Analysis - Meta is introducing ads to WhatsApp, focusing on user data for targeting but aiming to avoid content analysis, with the bigger opportunity being the race to artificial general intelligence [44][45][47] - Reddit is launching AI-driven advertising tools, leveraging human engagement data to inform generative AI and improve ad targeting [50][51] - Victoria's Secret is facing pressure from activist investors to overhaul the board and focus on the core bra business, while also navigating consumer spending habits and recent leadership changes [53][56][57] - China is stimulating its consumer market to offset export dependency, with Apple being a notable loser as domestic brands like Huawei gain market share [76][78][79][80] Global Investment Strategies - There's a potential shift in global equity leadership away from the US, with capital repatriation expected to benefit Europe, Asia, and emerging markets [87] - The US dollar showed no reaction to market surprises, and there was no rally in treasuries, indicating a lack of appetite for US assets [84][85] - TPW Advisory is overweight Chinese equity, favoring US-listed ETFs, and constructive on a global growth cycle extending through 2027-2028 [82][83] AI & Technology - AI is a major theme at the Can Lions International Festival of Creativity, with discussions on how it's changing the advertising and media industries [95] - Time Inc is embracing AI, launching Time AI with Scale AI to create personalized content and audio versions of their journalism [96][97][98][101][102] - Hyperscalers are investing heavily in the race to artificial general intelligence, even without knowing the ultimate prize [48] Energy Sector - Energy stocks may present an opportunity, as they have diverged from oil price trends and offer potential dividends [105][106] - AI's energy demands are creating a large energy problem, with hyperscalers investing in creative solutions like "behind the meter" energy sources [16][17] - Gas prices are still about 33 cents a gallon below last year, and diesel prices hit their lowest level since 2021 prior to Middle East escalations [23][32][33]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company ended Q1 2025 with record assets under management (AUM) of $840 billion, driven by record money market assets of $637 billion [6][20] - Total revenue for Q1 decreased slightly from the prior quarter, with higher revenue from money market assets offset by lower revenue from equity assets [25] - Q1 operating expenses decreased by $22.5 million from the prior quarter, mainly due to lower FX-related expenses [26] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Equity assets increased by $1.5 billion from year-end, primarily due to net sales of $1.4 billion [6] - Fixed income assets increased by about $1.4 billion in Q1, mainly due to higher market valuations, partially offset by net redemptions [11] - Alternative private markets saw an increase of $562 million in Q1, driven by FX rates and net sales of about $61 million [12] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company’s money market mutual fund market share was approximately 7.10% at the end of Q1, down slightly from 7.22% at the end of 2024 [23] - Managed assets were approximately $828 billion, including $629 billion in money markets, $78.5 billion in equities, and $98 billion in fixed income [24] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on developing its private markets business for growth, including the acquisition of a majority interest in a U.K. renewable energy company [17] - The company plans to continue adding active ETFs, with a goal of launching a handful each year [91] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management noted that the first quarter is typically the worst quarter of the year for the industry, but this year saw positive flows [37] - There are expectations for higher interest rates for a longer period, which is anticipated to continue driving positive flows into money market products [52] Other Important Information - The company declared a $0.34 per share dividend, an increase of nearly 10% from the prior quarter [29] - The company purchased over 3 million shares for about $120 million during Q1 [30] Q&A Session Summary Question: Comments on money market market-share - Management clarified that the company had $3 billion of increased money market fund AUM, indicating positive inflows despite competitive pressures [32][36] Question: Update on fixed-income outflows - Management attributed elevated fixed-income outflows primarily to the Total Return Bond Fund and High Yield, with performance improving [42][44] Question: Flows since tax date - Management reported an increase of about $5 billion in assets since the tax date, indicating positive flows from both retail and institutional sides [55] Question: Capacity issues with MDT - Management confirmed there are no capacity issues with MDT despite significant organic growth [96]