Brent crude crossed $110 per barrel today for the first time in three weeks. The move comes as the White House reiterated its red lines with Tehran. Goldman Sachs warned oil could hit $120 if the conflict drags on. The Bank of Japan held rates today but raised its inflation forecast, citing war-driven market turmoil. Defence stocks gave back recent gains as investors sold into the news — production bottlenecks and uncertainty over US munitions funding are weighing on the sector.
Seagate Technology jumped after a Q3 beat-and-raise. Booking Holdings guided for Q2 revenue growth of 4–6% but flagged that Middle East conflict continues to dent gross bookings. Hilton Worldwide and Universal Health Services both held Q1 earnings calls today. Markel Group missed on both EPS and sales. The biggest test comes tomorrow — and both report Wednesday, with following Thursday.
Brown-Forman and France's Pernod Ricard mutually terminated their potential combination today. The deal had been closely watched in the spirits sector. No terms were disclosed.
Wolfspeed short interest hit 48% of free float — up 8.5 points in a week. SoundHound AI has zero shares left to borrow. On the insider side, CoreWeave saw $258M in shares sold by hedge fund Magnetar, just weeks after its March IPO. AST SpaceMobile insiders filed $271M in sales. Both are among the largest insider exits seen this month.
European markets closed lower overall. However, Nokia and L'Oréal both beat earnings estimates, providing bright spots in an otherwise cautious session. The UAE leaving OPEC added to geopolitical uncertainty around oil supply.
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