Elon Musk orders himself to return to the office

Studies regarding the benefits of return-to-office mandates have been mixed. Some find that hybrid workers are as productive as on-site ones, while others conclude that in-person work cultivates mentorship and training.

In some cases, however, the results of being physically in the office are unequivocal. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on X that he would be “spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms.” Investors appeared glad that Musk would be pivoting away from his involvement in politics to refocus on his companies, pushing up shares of the electric vehicle company nearly 7% Tuesday.

Other tech stocks, such as AMD, Apple and Microsoft, also climbed, juiced by positive developments on the trade front. Apart from U.S. President Donald Trump’s Sunday pause on tariffs of 50% on the European Union, U.S. National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Tuesday that “we’ll probably see a few more deals even this week.”

For the U.S. stock market to sustain its blazing start to the week, investors will be banking on Musk — and U.S. authorities — to continue their in-person work leading companies and negotiating trade deals with countries.

S&P jumps to snap losing streak
U.S. stocks popped Tuesday. The S&P 500 soared 2.05% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.78%, with both indexes snapping a four-day losing streak. The Nasdaq Composite surged 2.47%. Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Wednesday. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.15% at 1:30 p.m. Singapore time, as the country’s consumer inflation rose a higher-than-expected 2.4% in April. On the flipside, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.27% and South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.15%.

All eyes on Nvidia’s first-quarter earnings
Nvidia continues to see massive growth from sales of graphics processors. But with the Trump administration’s new restrictions on the chipmaker’s exports to China — which Nvidia says will cause it to take a $5.5 billion write-down on inventory — the mood heading into the chipmaker’s earnings report, out Wednesday, is different from that of recent quarters.

Musk will be ‘super focused’ on work
Tesla shares jumped nearly 7% after CEO Elon Musk wrote in a post to his social media platform X that he will return to “spending 24/7 at work” and needs to be “super focused” on his companies. Musk’s involvement in politics, such as endorsing Germany’s far-right AfD Party, has affected Tesla’s reputation in Europe, causing April sales on the continent to plunge 49% year on year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

Rising Japanese bond yields pose dangers
Japan’s long-dated government bond yields have been moving higher, with the 40-year yield hitting an all-time high of 3.689% Thursday. The moves could spark a wave in which Japan’s investors suddenly move their capital from the U.S. back home, according to Macquarie analysts. The capital flight, in turn, could cause the yen to appreciate and unwind the carry trade, leading to a global sell-off reminiscent of that in August last year.

U.S. consumer confidence in May soared
Consumer optimism in the U.S. was much better than expected in May, data from the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index showed. May’s reading came in at 98.0, far higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 86.0. Much of the positive sentiment, according to board officials, came from developments in the U.S.-China trade impasse. May’s rebound followed five straight months of declines.

[PRO] Stocks to be ‘rangebound’: JPMorgan
Despite the surge in stocks Tuesday, JPMorgan thinks the S&P 500 could “remain rangebound,” with those gains being short-lived because of two reasons. The bank recommends clients to buy call options on this index to hedge against potential downside.

What chip shortage? 10 questions with AI startup unfazed by U.S.-China tensions

Hearing from Chinese businesses about how artificial intelligence can be applied gives rise to an understanding of it that is very different from how it’s commonly perceived.

After a stint as a data scientist at Meta, Caltech alumnus Jerry Ye returned to China in 2017 at the behest of an investor, with the goal of starting a global AI company. The startup, Whale, sells AI software tools and related hardware to help retailers.

CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng caught up with Ye in Beijing this week as he passed through the city, where he has a small team, and asked him about restrictions in AI development in China, new revenue streams and more.