Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving markets and why.
In the chip space, Nvidia and Microsoft unveiled the RTX Spark, a PC processor purpose-built for artificial intelligence agents. Nvidia edged higher on the news, but the real story was the damage done elsewhere — Intel and AMD both sold off harder than Nvidia gained, as investors read the announcement as a direct threat to their existing PC chip franchises.
Turning to energy, crude oil pushed sharply higher Monday, clawing back a portion of last week's losses after prices had slid to a six-week low. The driver is geopolitical uncertainty around a potential peace framework in Iran — traders are pricing in the risk that a deal fails to materialize, which would keep Iranian supply constrained and support prices near current levels.
And in the political economy space, the Trump administration is actively reshaping how Social Security operates, with changes now extending to how appointments are scheduled within the agency. The moves add to a broader pattern of administrative restructuring that analysts say could affect service delivery for tens of millions of beneficiaries in the months ahead.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
