Earnings, Oil, and AI Drive Thursday's Market

Big Earnings Day

Thursday delivers a packed reporting schedule. American Express, Verizon, NextEra Energy, and HCA Healthcare all report today. Charter Communications and SLB round out the slate. Next week accelerates further. Microsoft and Meta Platforms headline a monster Tuesday. Investors are hungry for AI spending clarity from both.

Oil Breaks $100 — Bonds Sell Off

Brent crude topped $100 a barrel as Middle East tensions flared. Houthi attacks are threatening tanker routes through Bab al-Mandab. Asian refiners may wait weeks longer for crude deliveries. The oil spike is driving a broad bond sell-off. Rate expectations are being reset higher across major markets.

Intel's AI Ambitions

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan staked out a bold position on AI chips. He backed a $20 billion-plus capex push and targeted a $100 billion custom AI chip market. The move has direct implications for NVIDIA, which has dominated that space. Bears have not backed down from shorted chip names — Wolfspeed sits at nearly 80% SI % FF despite a 162% three-month rally.

Short Sellers and Insiders Signal Divergence

Short interest in Hertz hit 73.6% of free float. Borrow availability is near zero. A squeeze is a real risk. On the insider front, billionaire Carlos Slim filed sales of over $112 million in PBF Energy. Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson also filed $50 million in share sales. The pattern of C-suite selling coincides with bearish options flow in tech names like Oracle and Tesla, both down sharply in 2026.