Welcome to Markets Desk, here's what's moving the needle right now.
Sam Altman made an unannounced visit to South Korea over the weekend, sitting down with Samsung executives and reportedly with SK Group leadership as well. The move signals OpenAI is aggressively deepening its chip supply relationships in Asia, a strategic priority as the AI arms race intensifies and compute demand keeps climbing.
Shifting to equities, Australian markets extended their losses in mid-session Monday, with the S&P ASX two hundred slipping below the eight thousand mark. The selling follows broadly negative cues out of Wall Street on Friday, reversing gains built over the prior two sessions. Risk appetite remains fragile as global investors digest the macro backdrop.
Meanwhile, on the geopolitical energy front, the United States is pushing to restore Russian natural gas flows to Europe through Ukraine, framing it as a potential energy ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv. The proposal faces real resistance across European capitals, where leaders remain deeply skeptical of any arrangement that could be seen as softening pressure on Russia ahead of broader peace negotiations.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
