Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving markets and why.
AI stocks are under real pressure today after a cohort of prominent tech leaders called for a slowdown in development, citing existential risk. SoftBank, one of OpenAI's most significant backers, fell as much as thirteen percent on the session, dragging the broader AI trade lower and rattling sentiment across the Nasdaq composite.
That weakness in tech stands in contrast to what's happening in materials, where copper is telling a very different story. Prices are holding near record highs, and the driver isn't a single catalyst — it's structural. Mine supply is shrinking while demand from AI data centers and electrical grid buildouts continues to accelerate. Producers like Freeport-McMoRan are seeing meaningful leverage to that price environment, though tariff volatility remains a live risk.
Elsewhere, Nasdaq Incorporated is making a quiet but consequential move into round-the-clock markets, committing one hundred million dollars to Kraken's parent company Payward. The exchange operator plans to launch tokenized Nasdaq Equity Tokens by two thousand twenty seven while licensing its surveillance software to the platform — a signal that traditional market infrastructure is positioning seriously for a crypto-native future.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
