Tesla (TSLA.US) is considering producing humanoid robots at its Shanghai Gigafactory to maintain its growth in the mainland market, targeting an annual production capacity of 100,000 units by the end of this year, Chinese media reported.

Wang Hao, Vice President of Tesla and President of Tesla China, said that the Shanghai Gigafactory, like Tesla's other factories, will undertake an extremely pivotal role as a production base, with the arrival of the robotics era. However, Tesla has not yet disclosed specific details regarding the production launch timeline and scale.
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In the first half of April, China's passenger car (PV) market entered a short-term adjustment phase after the post-Spring Festival recovery seen in March, during which overall demand showed a mild pullback when compared with the same period in March, according to a mid-month report released by the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA).

It is expected that the PV market will heat up gradually in the second half of April, thanks to the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in late April, consumer demand stimulated by multiple launches of heavyweight new models, and pre-holiday car purchases ahead of the Labor Day Golden Week.

Given that the PV market will likely retain a certain degree of resilience this month, the CADA predicts the final sales will reach 1.6 million PVs, broadly in line with March.
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Netflix (NFLX.US) announced after the market bell on Thursday that its 1FQ revenue rose by 16% YoY to USD12.25 billion, above expectations of USD12.18 billion, while net profit nearly doubled YoY to USD5.28 billion, with EPS of USD1.23, beating expectations of USD0.76.

Nevertheless, Netflix's EPS forecast of USD78 cents for this quarter was still below Wall Street analysts' estimate of USD84 cents, and Reed Hastings, its chairman and co-founder, is set to step down after serving the board for 29 years to pursue philanthropic endeavors and personal interests. The company's share price slumped by 9% in after-hours trading.
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US bourse fluctuated higher on Thursday as US President Donald Trump said Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire. The S&P 500 ended up 18 points, or 0.3%, at 7,041. The Nasdaq gained 86 points, or 0.4%, to 24,102, marking a 12th consecutive day of upswing, its longest winning streak since 2009, and setting a fresh record closing high alongside the S&P 500. The DJIA hiked 115 points, or 0.2%, to 48,578.

Major techs were mixed. After surging nearly 8% on Wednesday, Tesla (TSLA.US) pulled back 0.8% on Thursday. Apple (AAPL.US) dipped 1.1%, and NVIDIA (NVDA.US) lost 0.3%. Amazon (AMZN.US) added 0.5%, while Meta (META.US) gained 0.8%. Intel (INTC.US) jumped up 5.5%.
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Amazon.com (AMZN.US) agreed to acquire Globalstar, a mobile satellite service operator, with the transaction expected to be completed in 2027, BofA Securities issued a research report saying. The deal will enhance Amazon.com's own next-generation direct-to-device (D2D) system and expand network coverage scope.

The broker believed that, as Amazon Leo scales up, there will be significant revenue opportunities. Therefore, BofA Securities kept rating at Buy on Amazon.com, with a target price of US$275.
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Nvidia (NVDA.US) CEO Jensen Huang said that the breakthrough of Anthropic's AI model Mythos demonstrates that the US should seek stronger cooperation with China, enabling AI researchers from the world's two largest economies to reach consensus on the safe use of AI technology.

He noted that dialogue and research exchanges between the two countries may be the most solid approach. Most importantly, both sides should strive to forge consensus on the uses of AI, particularly on which applications should not involve AI.

He added that he is concerned that tensions between the US and China over trade and security issues could hinder collaboration in key research areas.
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Amid continued market hopes for US-Iran peace talks, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both notched fresh record highs. The S&P 500 hit an intraday 52-week high of 7,026 and closed near the peak at 7,022, up 55 points or 0.8%. The Nasdaq also set a new high and finished near its record at 24,016, up 376 points or 1.6%. The DJIA lagged behind, finishing down 72 points or 0.2% at 48,463.

Tesla (TSLA.US) swelled 7.6%, after Elon Musk said progress had been made in chip development.

Meta (META.US) and Broadcom (AVGO.US) extended their customized AI chip partnership through 2029, with their shares up 1.4% and 4%, respectively.

Several banks had their results reported. Morgan Stanley (MS.US) hit a 52-week high, climbing more than 4%, while Bank of America (BAC.US) posted quarterly earnings beat, shoring its stock up by nearly 2%.
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In the first 12 days of April, China's retail sales in the passenger vehicle market amounted to 377,000 units, down 20% YoY, 12% lower than the same period last month, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). Total retail sales YTD reached 4.598 million units, down 18% YoY.

Over the same period, the nationwide retail sales in the passenger car new energy market amounted to 224,000 units, down 11% YoY, but up 7% from that in the same period last month. The retail penetration rate was 59.5%, while manufacturer new energy wholesale penetration rate was 53.2%.
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Global smartphone shipments in 1Q26 shrank 4.1% YoY to 289.7 million units, snapping a streak of ten consecutive quarters of growth since mid-2023, based on preliminary data from IDC's latest Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

The slowdown in 1Q26 was expected to be a mild precursor to the full-year trend, as tight supply and rising prices of memory-related components may further suppress market growth.

Samsung (005930.KS) regained the global top spot, driven by the Galaxy S26 Ultra, with shipments growing 3.6% YoY to 62.8 million units. Apple (AAPL.US) came in as second as the iPhone 17 series delivered robust performance, with global shipments increasing 3.3% YoY to 61.1 million units. XIAOMI-W (01810.HK) ranked third with global shipments of 33.8 million units, down 19.1% YoY. OPPO and vivo ranked fourth and fifth, with shipments dropping 9.9% and 6.8% YoY, respectively.

In the mainland China market, shipments totaled 69 million units in 1Q26, down 3.3% YoY. Among them, Huawei maintained its leading position nationwide with shipments of 13.7 million units, up 8.1% YoY, while Apple recorded shipments of 13.1 million units, surging 33.3% YoY.
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NVIDIA (NVDA.US) supplier and leading mainland AI printed circuit board (PCB) maker, VGT (02476.HK), plans to stop accepting institutional investor subscriptions for its Hong Kong offering one day earlier than scheduled, Bloomberg reported, citing people with the knowledge of the matter.

The stock closed subscription at noon on Wednesday (15th), while its public offering will close tomorrow (16th).

Separately, due to strong demand, VICTORY GIANT TECHNOLOGY (300476.SZ), which is already listed on the mainland A-share market, plans to expand the size of its H-share listing to HKD20.2 billion, IFR under Reuters, citing sources, reported.

As of the Hong Kong market open this morning (15th), margin financing subscription for VGT whopped HKD46.475 billion, representing an oversubscription of approximately 25x.
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