Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on the stories moving markets right now.
Oil crossed one hundred dollars a barrel for the first time since early June as Houthi forces struck Saudi tankers rerouting through the Red Sea to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. The escalation comes one day after Washington signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Riyadh, raising the geopolitical temperature across the entire Gulf region considerably.
Shifting to the technology landscape, the United States joined other nations at the APEC summit in China to endorse open-source artificial intelligence development paired with strong security standards. The joint ministerial statement is notable — it marks the first time APEC has addressed open-source AI cooperation at that level, signaling a rare alignment between Washington and Beijing on the framework.
On the earnings front, two names came in soft. SLM Corp and Robert Half International both reported second quarter profits that declined year over year. Robert Half in particular draws attention as a bellwether for professional staffing demand — a softer read there tends to reflect broader hesitation among employers around white-collar hiring, which bears watching as the labor market continues to normalize.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
