Equities & AI Infrastructure:

• US stocks advanced as investors bought semiconductor shares, with a major chipmaker gauge rising 1.6% and the Nasdaq 100 gaining 1.2% ahead of upcoming corporate earnings from Meta and Tesla.
• Additionally, Nscale is reportedly in talks to supply computing power to Anthropic in a potential $45 billion deal involving its Monarch building, which is slated to deliver 460MW of compute power.

Energy & Geopolitics:

• US Energy Secretary Wright stated that no Russian diesel has been released yet and it remains to be seen if Russia will do so.
• Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy noted that Ukraine could stop striking Russian refineries in return for US help with Patriot missiles.
• In the Middle East, Brent crude futures settled down 0.28% at $109.55/bbl, while the IRGC warned that global internet and business data depend on cables passing under the Strait of Hormuz, adding that Tehran could expand blockades to the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and Suez Canal.
• Additionally, reports surfaced of Yemeni drone attacks targeting Dammam, Saudi Arabia, halting airport activity there.

Corporate & Trade Updates:

• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced new planned investments in German agile robots, Avelios Medical, Mirelo, and Reflex Aerospace.
• Meanwhile, RBC Securities is anticipating a Bank of Canada rate hike next week, and various Tuesday FX options expiries were reported across major currency pairs.