1. Euro meets strong demand on dips below 1.18.

The European Central Bank shows no inclination to cut interest rates. Some argue that excessive euro strength could eventually force the ECB’s hand, but recent comments from officials on the exchange rate appear more about keeping expectations in check than signaling an imminent response.
Verbal intervention is conceivable if the currency were to push meaningfully beyond $1.20 toward $1.25, but at current levels, euro strength does not appear to be a policy constraint.

2. The rally is broadening.

More US companies are posting quarterly earnings growth, suggesting a sustained broadening beyond technology heavyweights, strategists at Deutsche Bank write.

Below: the Russell 2000 is outshining the Nasdaq.

3. JPMorgan and Goldman say AI fears on software stocks are overblown.

They say investors should increase exposure to higher quality and AI-resilient software names as recent extreme price action makes a rotation back into these stocks possible.
“The "death of software" and vibe-coding narratives is a passing trend, arguing that while a pretty UI is one piece of a CRM system, data governance, maintenance, and managing people and processes are challenges AI cannot currently address. AI-native startups are lacking critical elements, including partner ecosystems, dedicated engineering resources, cloud infrastructure guarantees, and mobile applications. The partner ecosystem is a "big moat" for HubSpot and Servicenow, noting that newer entrants simply cannot replicate this support infrastructure in the near term.

4. The AI storm in the music industry is a buying opportunity.

The debate has shifted from legal risk to monetization and product execution, with major labels increasingly positioning AI as a controlled growth opportunity rather than a threat. Following lawsuits in 2024 against generative platforms such as Suno and Udio, UMG has signaled a pivot toward licensed AI ecosystems, royalty attribution, and framing AI tools as enablers of superfan engagement and creativity.

UMG has a compelling growth story as the global rights leader in a music industry (>30% market share) undergoing a monetisation transformation, and within which UMG is increasingly asserting its pricing power and leveraging AI opportunities.
It has consistently been delivering 7-9% growth, and as the largest global rights holder, UMG is well placed to capitalise on the strong structural growth in music.

Last but not least, Spotify was up 15% after crushing earnings expectations…a possible catalyst for UMG.

5. Prices for GLP-1s are falling fast.

Typically, drug prices climb or plateau until generics arrive years later. That trend should be even stickier in a duopoly. Yet the obesity market has turned traditional pharma economics upside down.
Two years ago, a GLP-1 prescription could cost an uninsured patient more than $1,000 a month. Today, Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill starts at just $149 through cash-pay programs.
As insurers and employers moved slowly, patients bypassed the system entirely, turning to cash payments. This shift—combined with persistent brand-name shortages—opened the door for telehealth firms and compounded “copycats,” introducing cutthroat price competition years earlier than the industry expected.
Drugmakers were ultimately forced to respond with lower prices. They needed cash prices low enough to fend off compounders and to reach uninsured patients at scale.

Novo Nordisk was slower to embrace the cash-pay pivot, but it is making up for lost time. In just a few weeks since launching the Wegovy pill, it has already added 170,000 patients onto the treatment.

Not a subscriber yet?