Tonight Highlights: Middle East Tensions Ease; U.S. Futures Rise, Oil Plunges, Memory Stocks Slip Pre-Market

U.S. stock index futures pushed higher on Monday, with Dow futures advancing over 1%, after President Donald Trump called off planned military strikes against Iran, sending crude oil prices tumbling. Major European benchmarks mostly traded higher.

 

Trump announced Sunday that he had canceled the proposed strikes and confirmed that U.S. and Iranian officials would resume diplomatic negotiations on Monday.

 

Market sentiment improved markedly for the first trading day of August as Trump pivoted from aggressive threats back to diplomatic engagement—a tactical policy shift seen multiple times since the outbreak of the war with Iran.

 

Crude oil futures tumbled on the news. Global benchmark Brent crude dropped roughly 6% to trade at $82.95 per barrel.

 

U.S. Treasury yields also pulled back, with the benchmark 10-year yield declining 6 basis points to 4.68%.

 

*"Investors remain cautious because 'we've seen this movie before,'" said Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge. "Until a tangible resolution is reached—if ever—conflict remains very much on the table."

 

In Asian trading, South Korea’s KOSPI tumbled over 5%, giving back a portion of Friday's record gains, while Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 0.94%.

 

The Japanese yen firmed slightly against the U.S. dollar following joint intervention measures by U.S. and Japanese monetary authorities. The currency had touched a 40-year low late last month.

 

Memory chipmakers traded lower pre-market: Micron Technology fell nearly 4%, while SK Hynix ADRs and SanDisk each slipped over 3%.

Corporate News

OpenAI Unveils Next-Gen "Astra" Model, Solving Ten Advanced Math Problems at $2,000 Compute Cost

OpenAI announced ten mathematical and theoretical computer science breakthroughs achieved by an internal version of its next-generation flagship model, Astra. Based on Sol API pricing, total token compute costs to derive the solutions came to roughly $2,000.

 

The ten milestones span upper bounds on sphere packing in high dimensions, improved bounds for binary and spherical codes, proofs regarding non-pure Sofic groups, the disproof of Connes' Rigidity Conjecture, new lower bounds for arithmetic circuit complexity, the Quantum Parallel Repetition Theorem, hardness of approximation proofs for the Nearest Vector Problem, the Ehrhart Volume Conjecture, super-exponential lower bounds for multicolor Ramsey numbers, and extremal number conjectures.

 

AstraZeneca Reportedly Held Merger Talks with Bristol Myers Squibb; Combined Valuation Approaches $400B

AstraZeneca has engaged in preliminary merger discussions with Bristol Myers Squibb, according to media reports.

 

Sources familiar with the matter indicated that conversations took place over recent months and could still fall apart without an agreement. Details regarding the potential deal structure were not disclosed.

 

As of Friday's close, AstraZeneca held a market capitalization of £196 billion (~$264 billion), while Bristol Myers Squibb was valued at $133 billion.

 

Mark Gurman: iPhone Price Hikes of $100–$200 Expected; Foldable iPhone Could Start at $2,000+

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported on August 2 that Apple will "without a doubt" raise iPhone prices due to ongoing memory chip and main processor shortages, along with higher manufacturing costs for the upgraded camera systems on the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max—"not to mention the far more expensive design of its first foldable iPhone."

 

Gurman noted that iPad and Mac pricing expanded by $100 to $200 in several configurations and expects a similar price adjustment for the iPhone lineup. "As for the foldable iPhone, buyers should prepare for a starting price of at least $2,000, if not higher," he added.

 

TotalEnergies Inks European Renewable Asset Deals with Shell and KKR

TotalEnergies announced an agreement to acquire Shell’s entire onshore European renewable energy business.

 

The portfolio includes 500 MW of operational or under-construction solar and wind assets (primarily in Italy and the Netherlands) alongside a 3.5 GW pipeline of solar, wind, and battery storage projects across Italy, the UK, and Spain. The transaction is slated to close by year-end.

 

In a separate deal, TotalEnergies agreed to sell a 50% stake in a 1.2 GW European onshore solar and wind portfolio to an insurance account managed by KKR. The portfolio carries an enterprise value of €1.8 billion across assets in Germany, Spain, France, and Poland.

 

TotalEnergies will retain a 50% interest and continue operating the facilities while marketing generated power.