Good morning and welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving markets and the broader economy.
Equities are finding their footing this session, with the S&P five hundred up roughly half a percent, the Dow adding about two thirds of a percent, and the Nasdaq one hundred leading the charge near three quarters of a percent. The catalyst is familiar territory — optimism around a potential US-Iran peace framework is lifting risk appetite, and chipmakers are adding fuel to the rally, giving tech a particular tailwind heading into the weekend close.
Shifting from the floor to the broader economy, the Trump administration's green card crackdown is drawing sharp reaction from business owners and immigration policy experts alike. The new policy would push many immigrants to file applications from outside the United States, with USCIS retaining discretion to carve out exceptions for individuals deemed economically valuable or aligned with national interest. Critics warn the disruption to mixed-status households and skilled labor pipelines could be significant.
And on the AI cost front, Microsoft is reportedly pulling back most of its direct Claude Code licenses, steering engineers instead toward GitHub Copilot. That move follows reports that deploying AI tools at scale is running more expensive than simply retaining human employees — a tension that's becoming harder for corporate technology budgets to ignore as the productivity math gets more complicated.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
