Tonight’s Highlights: Trump Rejects Iranian Peace Proposal; U.S. Futures Slump
U.S. stock index futures trended lower on Monday, mirrored by broad losses across major European indices.
The downturn follows President Trump’s rejection on Sunday of a peace proposal submitted by Iran, which he characterized as "completely unacceptable."
According to Tehran, the proposal called for a total end to hostilities and the lifting of sanctions against Iran.
International oil prices surged in response to the diplomatic impasse. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose nearly 3% to break above $104 per barrel.
Despite the geopolitical friction, some market observers expect U.S. equities to remain resilient.
In the previous session, markets rallied on the back of a strong non-farm payrolls report, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite closing at record highs.
Rick Rieder, BlackRock’s Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income, noted that while the war and subsequent oil shock might slow growth compared to previous projections, "structural factors should keep the overall economy more robust than many anticipate."
Investors this week will focus on the April Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) to gauge the war's continued impact on inflation. Economists expect April CPI to rise 3.8% year-over-year, up from 3.3% in March.
Meanwhile, chipmakers Intel, AMD, and Micron continued their pre-market rallies, with Intel up 4.27% and Micron gaining 5.36% at the time of reporting.
Corporate News
OpenAI & EU: The European Commission welcomed OpenAI’s intent to open access to its latest ChatGPT model, with further discussions scheduled for this week. The Commission is also in talks with Anthropic regarding its "Mythos" model, seeking a similar regulatory solution.
Amazon: The tech giant is preparing its first-ever Swiss franc (CHF) bond issuance across six tranches (3 to 25 years). This move highlights how hyperscalers are tapping new debt markets to fund massive AI infrastructure investments.
Alphabet: Google’s parent company is planning its debut yen-denominated bond issuance to support AI-related investments. Alphabet recently hiked its 2026 Capex guidance to as much as $190 billion and is currently vying with Nvidia for the title of the world’s most valuable company.
Samsung SDS: A consortium led by Samsung SDS has been selected to build South Korea’s "National AI Computing Center." The 2.5 trillion won project aims to deploy 15,000 advanced AI semiconductors by 2028, providing low-cost compute resources to Korean SMEs and academia.
SoftBank: Launched a dedicated battery business in Japan to meet the surging power demands of AI. SoftBank aims for GWh-scale cell production by 2028 and targets annual revenue of over 100 billion yen by 2030, deploying storage across data centers and the industrial grid.
Toyota: Announced plans to build a new SUV manufacturing plant in Maharashtra, India. The facility is expected to begin production in the first half of 2029 with an annual capacity of 100,000 units.
Neutron Holdings (Lime): The world’s largest shared micro-mobility platform filed for a U.S. IPO with the SEC last Friday, seeking to raise up to $250 million. The company operates the Lime brand of electric scooters and bikes.