Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving markets and money.
Indian equities surged Monday as hopes for a United States-Iran peace deal drove oil prices sharply lower, giving markets in Mumbai a meaningful lift. Cheaper crude eases inflationary pressure across the Indian economy, which remains heavily import-dependent on energy, and traders responded with broad-based buying across sectors.
Shifting to artificial intelligence, Nvidia's Jensen Huang pushed back hard against executives who blame AI for workforce reductions, calling the reasoning lazy and premature. Huang argued it doesn't make sense to pin layoffs on technology that hasn't yet become widely embedded in business operations — a pointed message as companies race to deploy AI tools while managing headcount optics.
And speaking of that AI race, it's now moving into retail in a serious way. Walmart's AI shopping assistant, called Sparky, is part of a broader battle between major retailers and tech giants including OpenAI and Google to own the AI-driven commerce experience. Product recommendations, checkout, and customer service are all in play, and the stakes are enormous given how much consumer spending flows through these platforms.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
