U.S. Pre-Market: Trump Visits China, Storage Sector Rises Pre-Market, Oil Prices Remain High
U.S. President Trump arrived in Beijing for a state visit amid mixed equity futures. Alibaba’s Q4 results missed expectations with significant declines in adjusted EBITDA and net profit, while operating loss widened. Conversely, storage and semiconductor stocks, including SanDisk, Micron, Intel, Nvidia, and Qualcomm, saw substantial gains. Nebius exceeded Q1 revenue and EBITDA estimates, reporting a narrower net loss and raising 2026 capex guidance. SoftBank Group reported $45 billion in cumulative gains from its OpenAI investment and significant asset sales. Saudi crude production hit a 36-year low in April due to geopolitical disruptions, impacting global oil demand forecasts.
TradingKey - On May 13, ET, U.S. President Trump traveled to Beijing by special aircraft. At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, is conducting a state visit to China from May 13 to 15.
Futures on the three major U.S. stock indices showed divergent trends, with Dow Jones Industrial Average futures down 0.28%, Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.7%, and S&P 500 futures up 0.21%.
Spot gold experienced a tug-of-war after reclaiming the $4,700 mark, silver rose for a seventh consecutive session to $87.22, oil prices remained elevated, and U.S. Treasury yields pulled back slightly.
Market Volatility
Alibaba pared gains after an initial jump in pre-market trading. Alibaba's Q4 earnings report showed revenue of 243.38 billion yuan, up 3% year-on-year, missing market expectations of 246.507 billion yuan; adjusted EBITDA was 16.44 billion yuan, down 61% year-on-year, compared with a market expectation of 24.06 billion yuan; the company posted an operating loss of 848 million yuan, versus an operating profit of 28.465 billion yuan in the same period last year; adjusted net profit was 86 million yuan, compared to 29.847 billion yuan a year earlier and a market expectation of 15.082 billion yuan.
Star stocks in the storage and semiconductor sectors rose once again. SanDisk and Micron gained over 5%, Intel rose more than 3%, Nvidia climbed over 2%, and Qualcomm jumped more than 5%.
NEBIUS at one point surged by more than 20%. Nebius reported first-quarter revenue of $399 million, exceeding market expectations of $391.6 million. First-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $129.5 million, beating the $87.2 million estimate. Adjusted net loss for the first quarter was $100.3 million, narrower than the projected $176 million loss. Additionally, the company raised its 2026 capital expenditure guidance to between $20 billion and $25 billion.
SoftBank Group recorded cumulative investment gains of $45 billion. As of the end of March, SoftBank Group's investment in OpenAI has yielded cumulative investment gains of $45 billion. In April 2026, the company utilized a total of $20 billion in borrowings, primarily for its investment in OpenAI, of which $2.5 billion was repaid during that month. Furthermore, it sold $16.25 billion worth of T-Mobile shares during the 2025/26 fiscal year.
Market Headlines
Saudi crude oil production fell again, hitting its lowest level since 1990. OPEC's monthly report shows that Saudi Arabia's crude output in April dropped to its lowest level since 1990, reaching just 6.316 million barrels per day. The war in Iran disrupted crude shipments in the Persian Gulf, leading to the largest historical production declines for nations including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iraq, while fuel prices surged. OPEC cut its 2026 global oil demand growth forecast to 1.2 million barrels per day, while the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects global oil demand to decline by 420,000 barrels per day this year.
U.S. President Trump arrived in Beijing. On May 13, Eastern Time, U.S. President Trump arrived in Beijing via his official aircraft.
Key Data/Events Preview
8:30 AM ET: U.S. April Core PPI and PPI data
Donald Trump visits China; the following is the list of Trump's visiting delegation and corporate representatives:
Technology and Internet
Elon Musk | Tesla
Tim Cook | Apple
Dina Powell McCormick | Meta
Chuck Robbins | Cisco
Chips and Communications
Cristiano Amon | Qualcomm
Sanjay Mehrotra | Micron
Jensen Huang | Nvidia
Jim Anderson | Coherent
Finance and Investment
David Solomon | Goldman Sachs
Jane Fraser | Citi
Larry Fink | BlackRock
Stephen Schwarzman | Blackstone
Michael Miebach | Mastercard
Ryan McInerney | Visa
Aviation and Industrials
Kelly Ortberg | Boeing
H. Lawrence Culp | GE Aerospace
Food Retailers
Brian Sikes | Cargill
Gene Sequencing
Jacob Thaysen | Illumina
This content was translated using AI and reviewed for clarity. It is for informational purposes only.
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