Good morning and welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on the stories moving markets right now.
Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina has cleared the path for Kevin Warsh to become the next Federal Reserve chair, dropping his opposition after the Department of Justice ended its investigation into current chair Jerome Powell. That removes a significant political obstacle for the Trump administration, which has been pushing hard to install Warsh, a former Fed governor, at the helm of the central bank. Bond markets will be watching closely as this confirmation process moves forward.
Shifting to equities, Nvidia has clawed its way back to all-time highs, and the question traders are wrestling with now is whether there is still room to run. The company is projecting massive data center expansion through twenty thirty, and with artificial intelligence infrastructure spending showing no signs of cooling, the bull case remains intact, though valuation discipline is increasingly part of the conversation.
Across the Pacific, Asian markets are trading mostly higher to start the week, with Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea posting notable gains despite lingering uncertainty around trade negotiations. Australia is the outlier, trimming early losses but still extending a four-session slide, with the S and P ASX two hundred holding below the eight thousand eight hundred level.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
