US Consumer Inflation Expectations Ease in May, Offering Relief to Fed

U.S. consumers’ one-year inflation expectations fell to 3.5% in May from 3.6% in April, according to the latest survey from the New York Federal Reserve.

German Factory Orders Fall Sharply, Raising Concerns Over Manufacturing Recovery

German factory orders fell 3.8% month-over-month in April, significantly worse than the 2.2% decline expected by economists and reversing the strong 4.5% increase recorded in March.

Japan’s Economy Expands 0.5% in First Quarter, Matching Expectations

Japan’s economy grew 0.5% quarter-over-quarter in the first quarter of 2026, matching market expectations and accelerating from the 0.3% growth recorded in the previous quarter.

Eurozone inflation accelerated in May, reinforcing concerns that underlying price pressures remain persistent despite the European Central Bank’s easing efforts. Headline CPI rose 3.2% year-over-year, matching expectations and increasing from 3.0% in April, while monthly inflation slowed sharply to 0.1% from 1.0% previously.

More importantly for policymakers, core inflation—which excludes volatile food and energy prices—climbed to 2.5% year-over-year, exceeding expectations of 2.4% and accelerating from 2.2% in April. The stronger-than-expected core reading suggests that underlying inflationary pressures remain more stubborn than anticipated.

Brazil’s inflation pressures showed signs of accelerating in May, according to the latest IPC-Fipe data. The IPC-Fipe Inflation Index rose 0.45% month-over-month, up from 0.40% in April, indicating a modest pickup in consumer price growth.

Spain’s labor market continued to improve in May, but the pace of job gains was weaker than expected. The number of unemployed people fell by 36,300, marking another month of declining unemployment, though the decrease was smaller than economists’ forecast of 56,800 and below the previous month’s decline of 62,700.

Japan’s latest 10-year government bond auction reflected rising yield pressures as investors demanded higher returns to hold long-term debt. The auction yield came in at 2.649%, up from the previous 2.540%, indicating that borrowing costs continue to trend higher.

Australia’s construction sector remained under pressure in April, although the decline in building approvals was less severe than in the previous month. Building approvals fell 3.4% month-over-month, worse than expectations for a 1.5% decline, following a sharp 10.5% drop in March.

NVIDIA shares climbed approximately 4.5% today as investors reacted positively to the company’s latest artificial intelligence chip announcements and expanding vision for AI-powered computing.

The rally was fueled by NVIDIA’s unveiling of a powerful new AI supercomputer chip scheduled for release this fall, reinforcing the company’s position at the center of the global artificial intelligence infrastructure boom. Investors view the new product as another step in NVIDIA’s effort to maintain its technological lead as demand for AI training and inference continues to accelerate across enterprises, cloud providers, and government organizations.

Markets also welcomed news highlighting how NVIDIA’s next-generation AI processors could bring advanced artificial intelligence capabilities directly to Windows PCs. The move expands NVIDIA’s opportunity beyond data centers and cloud computing, potentially opening a massive consumer and enterprise PC market for AI-powered applications.

The announcements come just days after NVIDIA delivered another strong earnings report, which showcased continued growth in AI-related revenue and robust demand for its Blackwell platform. Today’s gains suggest investors remain confident that the company can sustain its leadership position despite increasing competition from rivals such as AMD, Intel, and custom chip developers.

With a market value exceeding $5 trillion and analysts maintaining an average price target well above current levels, NVIDIA continues to be viewed as one of the primary beneficiaries of the global AI spending cycle. Investors are betting that the company’s expanding portfolio of AI chips, software, and computing platforms will drive another wave of growth as businesses increasingly adopt artificial intelligence technologies.

Today’s move highlights the market’s belief that NVIDIA’s innovation pipeline remains strong and that demand for advanced AI computing is still in the early stages of a multi-year expansion.

China’s manufacturing sector remained in expansion territory in May, although growth moderated from the previous month. The Caixin/RatingDog Manufacturing PMI came in at 51.8, beating market expectations of 51.4 but easing from April’s 52.2 reading.