HK, US stocks top stories

Strong demand for chips, Micron's performance and guidance both "explode," increasing capital expenditure, stock price surges over 6.7% after hours

Against the backdrop of an explosion in demand for AI data centers and a continued tightening of storage chip supply, Micron delivered a first-quarter report on Wednesday that was significantly better than expected, providing guidance for second-quarter revenue, gross margin, and earnings per share that far exceeded market expectations. It indicated that the shortage of memory/storage chips will persist until 2026 and last even longer, raising its capital expenditure expectation for fiscal year 2026 from $18 billion to $20 billion

Reminder: Please pay close attention to the following (all in Beijing time)

Today's key focus: ByteDance's Volcano Engine Conference opens, Hainan Free Trade Port starts closure operations; Trump delivers a national speech; the Ministry of Commerce holds a press conference; central banks of Sweden, Norway, the UK, Europe, and Mexico announce interest rate decisions; the US releases CPI and unemployment data; European Central Bank President Lagarde holds a press conference; US international capital flow data is released

Energy inflation important barometer! AI electricity consumption surges, the largest power grid auction price in the U.S. hits a new high, households and businesses foot the bill

PJM, which operates a power grid covering 13 states and serves nearly one-fifth of the U.S. population, stated that its latest auction to ensure power supply will cost consumers $16.4 billion. Results released on Wednesday showed that the average daily cost of these power supplies rose from $329.17 per megawatt to $333.44 per megawatt. The rapid growth in electricity demand, concentrated in the region with the most data centers in the U.S., is squeezing power supply and driving up prices

To become the Costco of the healthcare industry, Medline raised $6.26 billion, creating the largest IPO of the year, with a debut surge of over 40%

Medline has created the largest IPO in the U.S. stock market in four years, as well as the fifth largest IPO in the past decade and the largest IPO of a private equity-backed company in history. Based on the closing price, Medline is valued at over $66 billion, nearly double the company's valuation when Blackstone and other private equity firms acquired a majority stake four years ago

Trade tensions between Switzerland and the United States have further eased, with Novartis and Roche expected to reach a drug pricing agreement with the U.S

The White House is expected to announce a drug pricing agreement with Novartis and Roche as early as Friday, aimed at easing trade tensions between the United States and Switzerland. This announcement may also cover other pharmaceutical companies, as Pfizer and AstraZeneca have reached similar agreements in recent months. These agreements are designed to lower drug prices in the U.S., with pharmaceutical companies agreeing to reduce drug costs under certain conditions in exchange for tariff relief and potential regulatory leniency

In the first fiscal quarter, Micron Tech's adjusted revenue was USD 13.64 billion, while analysts expected USD 12.95 billion

Micron's adjusted revenue for the first fiscal quarter was $13.64 billion, while analysts expected $12.95 billion. Risk warning and disclaimer: The market has risks, and investment should be cautious. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not take into account the specific investment goals, financial situation, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article are suitable for their specific circumstances. Investment based on this is at one's own risk

The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index preliminarily closed down 0.7%. Among popular Chinese concept stocks, Pinduoduo fell 3.7%, Nio and Li Auto fell 3.3%, XPeng fell 3%, Alibaba fell 1.5%, New Oriental rose 0.6%, and Yum China rose 0.7%

To become the Costco of the healthcare industry, Medline raised $6.26 billion, creating the largest IPO of the year, with an intraday increase of over 30% on debut

Medical supplies supplier Medline Inc. completed a fundraising of $6.26 billion, creating the largest global IPO of 2025. On its first day of trading, the stock code MDLN opened at $35 on Nasdaq, up nearly 21% from the issue price of $29, with an intraday increase of over 30%. Medline aims to be the "Costco of the healthcare industry," selling 216 million shares, with a valuation reaching $47 billion. This IPO surpasses CATL, becoming the largest IPO globally this year and boosting market optimism for the IPO prospects in 2026

U.S. Treasury Secretary Becerra: Any concerns about Hassett's qualifications to serve as Chairman of the Federal Reserve are absurd

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessenet on Wednesday again denied concerns about whether National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett is qualified to serve as Federal Reserve Chairman. A reporter mentioned that Trump had stated at the end of November that he already knew the candidate, but interviews were still ongoing; in response, Bessenet said, "Maybe he is referring to—maybe I am his choice, but I couldn't accept it at that time."

In the United States, CLO sales are expected to reach USD 201.5 billion in 2025, setting a new historical record

The number of leveraged loan collateralized securities issued by asset management firms this year has reached a record high, capitalizing on strong investor demand for high-yield loans. Data compiled by Bloomberg News shows that the issuance of collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) has reached $201.5 billion in 2025, breaking last year's record of $201.2 billion. As the Federal Reserve's anticipated interest rate cuts may lower leveraged buyout costs and generate more loans, the surge in new CLO issuances in the U.S. is expected to extend into 2026

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Bostic (2027 FOMC voting member): Although it is difficult to draw conclusions, the inflation situation is more concerning than the labor market

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Bostic (2027 FOMC voting member): GDP growth is solid and is expected to continue in 2026

Google releases the more efficient Gemini 3 AI model

Google released the more efficient Gemini 3 AI model. Risk Warning and Disclaimer: The market has risks, and investment requires caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not take into account the specific investment goals, financial situation, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article align with their specific circumstances. Investing based on this is at one's own risk

U.S. Treasury Secretary Basant: Any concerns that Hassett "might" serve as Chairman of the Federal Reserve are "absurd."

Challenge OpenAI for months! Google releases the more efficient Gemini 3 Flash, the default model for apps, enhancing search capabilities upon launch

In the benchmark test assessing agent programming capabilities, Gemini 3 Flash scored even higher than Gemini 3 Pro. The new Flash model maintains reasoning capabilities close to Gemini 3 Pro while achieving a speed three times that of Gemini 2.5 Pro, at only a quarter of the cost of Gemini 3 Pro; priced at $0.50 per million input tokens and $3.00 per million output tokens, slightly higher than Gemini 2.5 Flash, but outperforms 2.5 Pro with a speed three times that of the latter