Global equity markets rallied on April 15-16, 2026, as hopes for a de-escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict and a Reuters-reported 10-day Israel-Lebanon ceasefire propelled the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to fresh closing and intraday records. The S&P closed above 7,000 and the Nasdaq notched multi-session winning streaks (11-12 days), while small-cap Russell 2000 also reached record highs. The move was supported by resilient corporate earnings — banks including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, and PepsiCo surprised on the upside — and stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data. At the same time oil prices rose (Brent near $99.39, U.S. crude around $94.69) as flows through the Strait of Hormuz remained constrained and global supply buffers tightened. Safe-haven assets and Treasuries eased as risk appetite returned; the dollar retraced some declines. Strategists cautioned that markets were still highly sensitive to news from the Middle East and that further concrete progress on negotiations would be needed to sustain the rally.

Nintendo’s shares plunged in Tokyo on May 11 after the company announced price increases for its Switch 2 console and issued a cautious outlook for the new fiscal year. Shares fell roughly 8% intraday, trading around 7,020–7,181 yen. Nintendo said the Switch 2 will rise by 10,000 yen to 59,980 yen in Japan from May 25 and will increase by about $50 to roughly $500 in the U.S. from Sept. 1. The firm now forecasts selling about 16.5 million Switch 2 units in the coming year, down from roughly 19.9 million in the prior year, and expects fiscal‑year net profit to drop about 27% to ¥310 billion with revenue down about 11% to ¥2.05 trillion. Nintendo cited strong first‑year demand, higher memory‑chip costs and the price hikes as reasons. Analysts and investors expressed concern over a limited slate of blockbuster first‑party titles beyond scheduled releases such as Yoshi, Star Fox and Splatoon Raiders. President Shuntaro Furukawa pledged to boost the software lineup to “enhance ownership value.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 10–11 urged Indians to avoid non-essential gold purchases for a year as part of a wider appeal to conserve foreign exchange amid rising global energy prices and Middle East tensions. Modi also asked citizens to cut fuel use, limit overseas travel and support domestic goods. The calls come as crude oil surged and the rupee weakened toward the mid-90s per dollar, putting pressure on India’s import bill and foreign-exchange reserves. RBI data show reserves around $690.7 billion with recent weekly declines led by falls in gold and foreign-currency assets. India imports roughly 700–800 tonnes of gold annually (domestic output is negligible), making bullion one of the country’s biggest import items after oil. World Gold Council data for Q1 2026 show total gold demand rose to 151 tonnes and, for the first time, investment demand (82 tonnes) exceeded jewellery demand (66 tonnes). Industry reports also cite falling monthly import volumes and operational factors — including customs GST questions — that have reduced shipments and given policymakers temporary relief.

On May 11, 2026, Indian jewellery shares tumbled after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to refrain from buying gold and gold jewellery for one year to help conserve foreign exchange. Jewellery names including Sky Gold & Diamonds, Senco Gold, Thangamayil, Kalyan Jewellers and Titan fell sharply in intraday trade, with declines reported up to 12% (Sky Gold) and major listed peers down 6-10%. Benchmark indices also pulled back — the Sensex was down roughly 1-1.3% and the Nifty slipped below 24,000 — as selling spread across consumer-facing stocks. The comments came amid rising crude and gold prices, a weaker rupee and concerns over India’s gold import bill (reported at $71.98 billion in 2025-26) and a widened trade deficit. Analysts and traders said the appeal hit demand sentiment for the sector that relies on wedding and festival purchases and raised the risk that policymakers might consider import measures if external pressures persist. Titan reported strong FY26 jewellery revenue growth but investors are pricing potential near-term demand disruption and policy uncertainty.

Activist investor Aspex Management has increased its holding in German food-delivery group Delivery Hero to about 15% after buying a roughly 5% stake from Prosus for about €335 million (€22 per share), Reuters and other outlets reported on May 11, 2026. The deal was priced at a roughly 10% premium to Delivery Hero’s closing price on the prior trading day and about 22% above the 30‑day volume‑weighted average. Prosus’s remaining holding falls to about 16.8% as it continues a mandated sell-down tied to its takeover of Just Eat Takeaway.com; EU antitrust regulators have required Prosus to cut its stake below 10% by late summer. The transaction follows a prior sale of 4.5% to Uber in April. News of the trade sent Delivery Hero shares up roughly 7%. Aspex has publicly urged the company to withdraw from whole regions and has called for replacement of CEO Niklas Östberg, increasing pressure ahead of Delivery Hero’s annual general meeting on June 23, where Prosus-managed shares cannot be voted by the seller.

LONDON, May 11, 2026 — A two-week trial opened at London’s High Court on Monday as online fast-fashion rival Shein accused U.S.-listed Temu, owned by PDD Holdings, of copyright infringement “on an industrial scale.” Shein says Temu used thousands of photos taken by Shein staff to advertise copies or near-identical versions of Shein’s own-brand clothing, alleging the conduct was intended to secure an unfair market advantage. Temu has dropped its defence to Shein’s claims over roughly 2,300 photographs, according to Shein’s lawyers, and has counter-claimed for damages after an injunction required it to remove thousands of listings. Temu denies the wider allegations, saying Shein’s litigation is aimed at stifling competition; it has also accused Shein of breaching competition law by tying suppliers to exclusive deals, a separate strand of litigation due at trial next year. The London case is part of parallel litigation in the United States and comes as regulators tighten cross-border e-commerce rules — including the removal of a U.S. low-value parcel exemption and an EU change due in July — that could affect both companies’ low-price business models.