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The world’s biggest stock rally has fueled a near “maniacal” retail frenzy in South Korea, driving leverage and trading volumes to all-time highs. The Kospi is now the most volatile major stock gauge.

Goldman and BofA are the latest in a growing cohort of Wall Street banks pushing back their Fed rate-cut forecasts to at least the end of the year, citing strong jobs data and inflation concerns.

Price of physical oil cargoes is plunging as buyers pull back after last month’s bidding frenzy. An easing that began in 2nd half of April accelerated in the last week, with premiums of major North Sea grades, used to set Dated Brent, falling up to 90% to almost pre-war levels

Apollo: Unlike previous capex cycles, today's investment boom is concentrated entirely among large-cap firms.

Investors are scrambling to hedge EM bond exposure as the rally looks out of sync with the Iran conflict. JPMorgan is urging protection, while Fidelity and Frontier Road are trimming positions as spreads sit near their tightest levels in over a decade.

Traders pricing in 50% chance Fed will raise rates by April 27 amid persistent inflation pressures Yields on front-end notes climbed after policy decision Natixis said: surge represented a recognition that continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz will keep energy prices higher

Apollo: Inflation's Drag on Public Markets. Periods of higher inflation are associated with weaker returns in the S&P 500 and the IG and HY indexes, consistent with a policy backdrop of elevated interest rates that restrain risk-taking.

Emerging-market debt is roaring back.Sales of dollar- and euro-denominated bonds from developing nations this month are already running some 200% above the volumes seen last April, as yield-hungry investors dive back into risk.

The oil price shock is expected to push global inflation to 4.2% in the fourth quarter, up from 3.1% a year earlier, according to Bloomberg Economics. Advanced economies may see inflation peak around 3.4%.

The largest amount of open interest rests between the 112 and 113 call strikes across the May and June 10-year options, which equate to traders targeting a 10-year yield range between roughly 4% and 4.2%

Optimism about a possible peace deal in the MEA and lower oil prices has bond traders positioning for gains in Treasuries that could send 10y yields sliding toward 4%. One sizable position in the options market is targeting US 10y yields at 4.18% within three weeks

Apollo: Tech Valuations Back to Pre-AI Boom Levels. Tech valuations have compressed from 40x to 20x, and we are back at levels last seen before the AI boom began.

Goldman kicks off bank earnings today after Wall Street’s worst start to a year since the regional banking crisis. The KBW Bank Index trades at 12 times forward earnings, a 40% discount to the S&P 500’s multiple of 20.

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Investors wary of being wrong-footed by twists in the war are trading stocks at a record intensity — breaching a level Bloomberg Intelligence calls a “freak out” indicator 29 times this year.

US stocks aren’t adequately pricing in economic risks, with the equity risk premium rising to 78 bps from 74 in February, according to MLIV. While tech stocks have become relatively cheaper, other sectors remain expensive, particularly energy stocks.

Ed Yardeni and Wells Fargo Investment Institute believe information technology stocks have reached attractive valuations, citing strong fundamentals and durable outlook supported by the AI buildout.

Ed Yardeni: Technology stocks returned to attractive levels for long term investors after a pullback from last year’s highs. S&P 500 Information TechIndex is still down 7.1% in 2026, pressured by concerns over valuations, fears of AI disruption on software + risk-off mood 1/2

Moody’s: PE-owned companies borrowed US$ 94bn in US leveraged loans and high-yield bonds last year to fund their own payouts. The dividend recapitalizations allow firms to cash in as exits become more difficult.