Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving markets and why.
Crude is catching a bid, and the drilling numbers are backing it up. US oil rigs rose by two this week to four hundred thirty one, marking six consecutive weeks of expansion — the longest upward streak since mid two thousand twenty two. The Iran conflict is the primary catalyst, pushing prices high enough to make new wells economically viable again.
That drilling momentum feeds directly into the broader energy trade, where driving season is adding another layer of demand. Geopolitical risk premiums and seasonal consumption are converging, putting upstream names in focus for traders watching the summer crude setup heading into Memorial Day weekend.
Meanwhile, Dell is making a serious case that the AI infrastructure buildout is real and durable. AI server revenue surged more than seven hundred percent year over year in the first quarter, reaching sixteen billion dollars, with a backlog now sitting at fifty one billion. The critical question hanging over the stock is whether that explosive top-line growth can translate into meaningful margin expansion, or whether the cost of building out these AI factories continues to compress profitability even as revenues soar.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
