The European Union slapped fines worth hundreds of millions of euros on technology firms Apple (AAPL) and Meta (META) on Tuesday, as the first antitrust sanctions from a landmark new law aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech take hold. The fines come under the Digital Markets Act.

Iphone maker Apple was fined €500m ($570m), while Meta incurred a €200m fine.

“Apple and Meta have fallen short,” EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said. “All companies operating in the EU must follow our laws and respect European values.”

The EU's case around Apple revolves around its App Store preventing developers from linking to sites outside of the company's marketplace.

Meanwhile, Meta's instagram faces the fine for its model of advert-free services on the image-sharing platform.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said:

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said a survey indicating falling private sector activity in the UK “reflects the impact of headwinds from both home and abroad”.

He said: “The biggest concern lies in a slump in exports amid weakened global demand and rising global trade worries, but higher staffing costs have also piled pressure on companies – linked to the national insurance and minimum wage changes that came into effect at the start of the month.

“Just as export orders are falling at the sharpest rate since May 2020, during the pandemic lockdowns, firms’ costs spiked higher to a degree not seen for over two years.

“The collapse in confidence and drop in output during April raise red flags as to the near-term economic outlook and add pressure on the Bank of England to reduce interest rates again at its May meeting.”

Activity across the UK’s private sector has plunged to a more than two-year low as Donald Trump’s trade tariffs hammered exporters, according to new data.

The S&P Global flash UK composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reported a reading of 48.2 in April, a 29-month low and down from 51.5 in March.

The flash figures are based on preliminary data. Any score above 50.0 indicates that activity is growing while any score below means it is contracting.

The latest reading was weaker than expected, with a consensus of analysts having predicted a reading of 50.5 for the month.

US stock futures jumped after President Trump said he has 'no intention' of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, easing fears on Wall Street that the central bank's independence was under threat.

Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) popped 1.2%, while futures attached to the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F) jumped 1.5%. Futures attached to the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (NQ=F) soared 1.8%.

Trump told reporters from the Oval Office on Tuesday that he "never did" intend to remove Powell, though he reiterated his desire for the Fed chair to reduce interest rates. "I would like to see him be a little more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates," the president said.

Trump's comments marked a clear softening in tone toward Powell, offering relief to investors who had feared a growing rift between the two could add to uncertainty in a market already shaken by tariffs.

Read more on Yahoo Finance

Our US team reports:

Tesla (TSLA) reported first quarter earnings Tuesday after the bell that widely missed the mark, but the company said it still expects new vehicles to launch in the first half of 2025. During the post-earnings conference call, CEO Elon Musk said he's going to spend less time in Washington and more time at Tesla.

"Starting early next month, in May, my time allocation to DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] will drop significantly," Musk said. Musk said he'd continue to spend a day or two per week at DOGE, but said he will be "allocating far more of my time" to Tesla.

Tesla stock jumped 5% in after-hours trading after Musk's disclosure.

Tesla reported Q1 revenue of $19.34 billion vs. $21.43 billion (Bloomberg estimate), well below the $21.3 billion reported a year ago. Tesla posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.27 vs. $0.44 estimated.

Tesla said plans for new affordable vehicles are on track for start of production in the first half of 2025 and that it still expects Robotaxi volume production starting in 2026. Along with Robotaxi testing, these were two big investor concerns heading into earnings.

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Nabil Taleb, economist at PwC UK, said:

Pedro Goncalves writes:

The government borrowed more than expected in the year to March, according to official figures.

Borrowing, the difference between spending and income from taxes, came in at £151.9bn, up £20.7bn from the year before, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The amount borrowed was higher than the £137.3bn predicted by the UK's official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility. The ONS said borrowing rose to £16.4bn last month, the third-highest amount for March since monthly records began.

Chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, said: “Economic stability is crucial within a changing world. We will never play fast and loose with the public finances, that's why our fiscal rules are non-negotiable and why we are going through every penny of taxpayer money spent, line by line, for the first time in 17 years to tear out waste.

"We are laser-focused on making sure taxpayer money is delivering our Plan for Change missions to put more money in people’s pockets, rebuild the NHS and strengthen our borders."

Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

Hello again! Lucy Harley-McKeown here, kicking off another day of markets reporting.

This morning we've already had UK public finance data, which showed the government borrowed more than expected in March (more on that later).

Later there's the IIF Global Outlook Forum, where US government official Scott Bessent and Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey are among speakers.

Over in the US, financial updates from: Amazon (AMZN), IBM (IBM), AT&T (T) and Philip Morris (PM).

Let's get to it.