Meta Platforms reports after the close Wednesday and Tesla also reports this week, alongside a heavy slate of major corporate results. With AI-spending skepticism elevated after last week's selloff, these prints are a binary catalyst that could either stabilize the market or extend the tech rout depending on guidance around AI capex and margins.
The S&P 500 fell ~2% and Nasdaq ~4.5% last week, its worst week since June, as chipmakers logged their longest losing streak since 2008 and CoreWeave plunged over 25% on debt-payment concerns. Reports of slowing sequential revenue growth at Anthropic intensified scrutiny of AI infrastructure financing, a theme likely to keep pressuring AI-linked names near term absent reassuring earnings.
Trump Waives Most Russia Sanctions and Oil Tariffs
President Trump signed an executive order late last week suspending most sanctions and tariffs on Russia, just before they were set to take effect, raising expectations of higher global crude supplies. Brent fell over 2% toward $107 and WTI toward $100 on the news, easing inflation pressure and supporting equity futures, though Middle East ship attacks and Ukraine-Russia energy infrastructure strikes remain a supply-risk offset.
Significant Geopolitical Events with US Economic Impact
Persian Gulf Ship Attacks and Iran Hormuz Proposal
Ship attacks in the Persian Gulf are picking up and Ukraine struck an oil terminal in St. Petersburg, keeping energy-infrastructure disruption risk elevated and pushing longer-dated oil futures higher on expectations disruptions last into 2027. A Reuters report noted Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz remains on the table subject to US conditions, a potential swing factor for crude and inflation expectations.
Fed Chair Damps Hike Expectations as Yields Stay Elevated
The Fed chair damped rate-hike expectations while industrial output ran hotter than forecast, and the dollar slipped on Fed-hold bets. The 10-year Treasury yield sits near 5.06% and the 2-year near 4.73%, so incoming inflation and rate commentary remain a key driver of equity valuations, particularly for high-multiple tech.
JPMorgan analysts upgraded Intel, sending shares up more than 4% in premarket trading. The upgrade offers a rare positive datapoint for semiconductors after the sector's longest losing streak since 2008 and could help stem the AI-linked selloff in chip names near term.