Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving markets and why.
Oil is back in focus after prices climbed Friday as investors recalibrated risk around U.S.-Iran tensions following the midterm elections. The move reflects a classic geopolitical premium being priced back into crude, with traders weighing both escalation scenarios and the slim possibility of renewed diplomatic engagement.
Shifting to Japan, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries posted a significantly stronger first half, with profits climbing on higher revenues, and the company lifted its full-year outlook for fiscal two thousand twenty six. Defense and energy infrastructure have been key growth drivers — and yet shares fell on the session, suggesting the market had already priced in much of the upside ahead of the print.
Meanwhile, the political winds in Silicon Valley are shifting. The Financial Times is reporting that tech executives and AI leaders are rethinking their alliance with the Trump administration after the midterms delivered a sharp rebuke. The relationship, which had been built on regulatory goodwill and proximity to power, now appears to carry real political cost, and the industry is quietly recalibrating its strategy in Washington.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
