CNBC

Lead Story

Fresh military escalation in the Middle East has sent shockwaves through global markets, with West Texas Intermediate crude spiking above $90 a barrel following U.S. strikes against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz. This geopolitical friction sparked a global bond sell-off, driving the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield to its highest level since January 2025 at 4.788% and severely pressuring tech-heavy equity averages.

Markets & Economics

Rising inflation worries spurred by the Middle East war pushed the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield to 4.788%, while Japan’s benchmark yield reached a 30-year high of 3%. In response, Fed Governor Michael Barr signaled readiness to raise rates decisively unless inflation begins to moderate toward 2%. High-yield currency desks are closely watching standard indicators like the S&P 500, which technical strategists warned could see severe consolidation if it slips below the 7,500 level. As investors brace for these macro shifts, experts are analyzing historical indicators, with Piper Sandler’s James Fish looks ahead to Dell earnings Tuesday highlighting how the AI server cycle may interact with rising capital costs.

Business & Earnings

Dell Technologies led after-hours gainers, surging 10% after posting adjusted EPS of $7.04 on $46.97 billion in revenue, handily beating estimates and tripling its full-year AI server revenue projection to $74 billion. Palo Alto Networks also beat expectations with $3.41 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of $1.02, announcing plans to buy agentic AI security startup Console to address a $1 trillion modernization cycle in aging cyber infrastructure. At Apple, John Ternus officially took the helm as CEO as highlighted in John Ternus prepares to take over as CEO of Apple; however, analysts cautioned that rising memory component costs could trigger margin compression of 1.4% in the coming fiscal year. Meanwhile, camera maker GoPro saw its shares skyrocket 40% after announcing a surprise defensive pivot to AI data centers and military defense markets through a merger with Starman Optical.

Investing & Commentary

With the S&P 500 hovering within 2% of its record high, Jim Cramer is turning defensive, raising cash in his Charitable Trust to 15% and exiting Corning to protect a 52% average gain amid worries that data center capital expenditures face political and resource constraints. Concurrently, Cramer argued that Nvidia should dramatically scale up its buybacks with a “monster” half-trillion-dollar authorization to address the widening discount between its robust growth and stock price performance. Active managers are also eyeing opportunities in the options space, as Janus Henderson highlighted that an unusual gap between individual stock volatility and broader index volatility makes writing covered calls on individual companies highly lucrative.

Also Worth Watching

• Property Play: Coldwell Banker’s CEO on how AI and SpaceX money will hit home prices (Source): Coldwell Banker Realty CEO Kamini Lane explains how millions of dollars in new wealth from the SpaceX IPO and AI has yet to flow into residential real estate but will hit key markets soon.
• New York City is doing better than any of us anticipated, says RXR CEO Scott Rechler (Source): RXR Chairman Scott Rechler discusses New York City’s economic recovery, commercial real estate demand, and his work on the city’s Business Advisory Council.
• SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci executive decisions with Steve Sedgwick (Source): SkyBridge founder Anthony Scaramucci reflects on his brief 11-day White House tenure and discusses the pride, ego, and resilience needed to rebuild after public failure.
• Uber and Waymo revive robotaxi rivalry as partnership unravels (Source): Waymo expands driverless rides to Denver, Tampa, and San Diego, while Amazon’s Zoox targets Texas expansion, setting up an intense multi-city race as Tesla’s event nears.
• OpenAI discloses new momentum in ad business (Source): OpenAI reveals accelerating traction in its enterprise advertising stream as frontier AI labs race for diversified monetization avenues.

📉 Since several tech companies are flagging margin headwinds due to memory scarcity, would you like me to run a comparative analysis on how these rising input costs are projected to impact the valuations of Apple, Oracle, and other megacaps?