Overview
- Wall Street retreated Tuesday after a Wall Street Journal report said OpenAI missed internal targets for users and revenue, dragging down chipmakers and sending the Nasdaq down 0.9% and the S&P 500 down 0.5%.
- Oil held above $110 a barrel early Wednesday as stalled U.S.–Iran talks kept the Strait of Hormuz disrupted, with prices also reacting to the United Arab Emirates’ plan to leave OPEC on May 1.
- India’s Sensex fell 417 points and the Nifty dropped 97 points Tuesday on higher oil and foreign outflows, then stocks rebounded in early Wednesday trade as buying in blue chips and an Asian rally offered support.
- Traders expect the Federal Reserve to keep rates unchanged Wednesday, and they are watching results from Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta for clues on whether heavy AI spending is translating into profit.
- The Strait of Hormuz usually carries about one-fifth of seaborne oil, so a prolonged closure can lift fuel and transport costs for households and airlines and strain company margins.