Good evening, this is Markets Desk with your top stories.
Microsoft heads into Wednesday's earnings report carrying the weight of one hundred ninety billion dollars in AI infrastructure spending, and investors are watching closely to see whether that buildout is translating into real returns. Azure growth figures and capital expenditure guidance will be the numbers that move the stock.
Shifting to the automakers, Ford posted a second-quarter earnings beat and raised its full-year guidance, pointing to operational improvements, resilient vehicle pricing, and a stronger mix of high-margin products. The F-Series truck line, which had faced production headwinds, is now described by management as firmly back on track, a critical signal for the company's profitability story.
And on the geopolitical front, the path between Washington and Tehran remains deeply uncertain. A former national security official tells Forbes the most realistic near-term outcome is not a deal but a frozen conflict, as both sides remain far apart after five months of indirect engagement. That dynamic continues to carry implications for oil markets and broader Middle East risk premiums.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
