{"id":62404,"date":"2026-05-27T07:38:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T11:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/geopolitical-tensions-and-pdd-earnings-miss-weigh-on-markets-iran-us-deal-rumors-emerge\/62404\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T07:38:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T11:38:30","slug":"geopolitical-tensions-and-pdd-earnings-miss-weigh-on-markets-iran-us-deal-rumors-emerge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/geopolitical-tensions-and-pdd-earnings-miss-weigh-on-markets-iran-us-deal-rumors-emerge\/62404\/","title":{"rendered":"Geopolitical Tensions and PDD Earnings Miss Weigh on Markets; Iran-US Deal Rumors Emerge"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>PDD Holdings (<a href=\"\/stock\/PDD\">PDD<\/a>) shares face pressure after a significant Q1 earnings miss, with adjusted earnings per ADS of 9.51 Yuan falling far short of the 16.08 Yuan estimate.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Russia threatens to suspend oil and gas supplies to Armenia if it continues its EU accession process, a move that could jeopardize 40% of Armenia&#39;s trade turnover.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The IRGC Navy maintains its prohibition on &quot;hostile&quot; vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, though 23 vessels have transited the strategic waterway in recent hours.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>US mortgage applications plummeted 8.5% last week as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbed to 6.65%.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Rumors of a potential Iran-US agreement within weeks have surfaced from Arabic sources, offering a glimmer of hope for regional de-escalation.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Corporate Earnings: PDD Misses While National Bank of Canada Beats<\/h2>\n<p>PDD Holdings (<a href=\"\/stock\/PDD\">PDD<\/a>) reported disappointing first-quarter results that sent ripples through the e-commerce sector. The company posted revenue of <strong>106.23 billion Yuan<\/strong>, missing the analyst estimate of <strong>108.6 billion Yuan<\/strong>. The bottom line was even more concerning for investors, as adjusted earnings per ADS came in at <strong>9.51 Yuan<\/strong>, significantly below the anticipated <strong>16.08 Yuan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, National Bank of Canada (<a href=\"\/stock\/NA\">NA<\/a>) delivered a solid second quarter, reporting adjusted EPS of <strong>C$3.23<\/strong>, which beat the <strong>C$3.14<\/strong> estimate. The bank&#39;s adjusted revenue reached <strong>C$3.918 billion<\/strong>, topping the <strong>C$3.81 billion<\/strong> forecast. Despite the beat, the bank&#39;s <strong>CET1 ratio<\/strong> of <strong>13.5%<\/strong> was slightly lower than the <strong>13.7%<\/strong> analysts had expected.<\/p>\n<h2>Geopolitical Volatility: Middle East and Russia-Armenia Tensions<\/h2>\n<p>Geopolitical risks remain at the forefront of market concerns. The <strong>IRGC Navy<\/strong> reaffirmed that vessels from &quot;hostile countries&quot; are still prohibited from passing through the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>. While the IRGC noted that <strong>23 vessels<\/strong> have successfully passed in recent hours, the ongoing restrictions continue to threaten global energy supply chains.<\/p>\n<p>Simultaneously, rumors are circulating via Arabic sources that an <strong>Iran-US agreement<\/strong> could be possible within a few weeks. This potential diplomatic breakthrough comes as <strong>ECB&#39;s Santos Pereira<\/strong> warned that the Middle East conflict is expected to have a <strong>&quot;significant impact&quot;<\/strong> on price developments, potentially complicating the central bank&#39;s inflation fight.<\/p>\n<p>In Eastern Europe, Russia has escalated its pressure on Armenia. Foreign Ministry spokesperson <strong>Maria Zakharova<\/strong> stated that Moscow will <strong>suspend gas and oil supplies<\/strong> to Armenia if it proceeds with its <strong>EU accession process<\/strong>. Such a move would be devastating for Yerevan, as the EU is considered incompatible with the <strong>Eurasian Economic Union<\/strong>, and Armenia risks losing nearly <strong>40% of its trade turnover<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>Macroeconomic Headwinds: US Housing and Tech Skepticism<\/h2>\n<p>The US housing market continues to struggle under the weight of high borrowing costs. <strong>MBA Mortgage Applications<\/strong> for the week ending May 22 dropped by <strong>8.5%<\/strong>, a sharp acceleration from the previous week&#39;s <strong>2.3%<\/strong> decline. The <strong>30-year mortgage rate<\/strong> rose to <strong>6.65%<\/strong>, further dampening demand for new home purchases and refinancings.<\/p>\n<p>In the technology sector, the initial euphoria surrounding artificial intelligence is facing a reality check. Uber (<a href=\"\/stock\/UBER\">UBER<\/a>) is reportedly doubting whether its massive <strong>AI investments<\/strong> are yielding significant returns. According to a report by <em>The Verge<\/em>, the ride-hailing giant is struggling to find a direct link between rising compute costs and tangible improvements in consumer-facing features.<\/p>\n<h2>Energy and Finance: Eni Buybacks and Gold Incentives<\/h2>\n<p>In the energy sector, Eni (<a href=\"\/stock\/E\">E<\/a>) announced it will begin the second tranche of its <strong>\u20ac2.8 billion share buyback<\/strong> program in the coming days. This move underscores the company&#39;s commitment to returning capital to shareholders despite the volatile global energy landscape.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the <strong>Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX)<\/strong> is looking to bolster its position in the commodities market. The exchange announced plans to introduce <strong>incentive programs for <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/metal\/gold\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"gold price today\">gold<\/a> futures<\/strong>, aiming to attract more liquidity as investors seek safe-haven assets amidst ongoing global instability. This comes as the <strong>IDF<\/strong> reported striking over <strong>150 Hezbollah sites<\/strong> in Southern Lebanon and Beqaa, while several explosive drones hit Israel near the Lebanese border.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways PDD Holdings (PDD) shares face pressure after a significant Q1 earnings miss, with adjusted earnings per ADS of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5012],"tags":[11603,3697,3736,4037,4664,4824,5196,5438,6733,9526],"class_list":["post-62404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-hkex","tag-pdd","tag-uber","tag-ecb","tag-iran","tag-geopolitics","tag-russia","tag-mortgages","tag-eni","tag-na"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}