Welcome to Markets Desk, here's where things stand.
Brent crude has blown past one hundred twenty three dollars a barrel, hitting levels not seen since mid two thousand twenty two, after reports that the U.S. military is set to brief President Trump on potential action against Iran. A full blockade of Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz is choking global supply lines, and traders are pricing in the risk that this escalates further before it eases.
That oil spike is rippling straight into Asian equity markets, which are trading mixed this session. Indian shares are under particular pressure at the open, with investors juggling surging energy costs, a divided Federal Reserve, and exit poll results from key state elections — a cocktail of uncertainty that's keeping institutional buyers firmly on the sidelines.
Meanwhile in the tech space, Google's parent Alphabet is outpacing its rivals on cloud growth as Big Tech collectively maps out seven hundred twenty five billion dollars in AI capital spending. Meta shares dropped after its own capex increase rattled investors, but Alphabet's cloud numbers came in ahead of both Amazon and Microsoft, giving it a meaningful edge in the infrastructure race that will define this cycle.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
