Wednesday evening's MSFT beat set the tone for today. Microsoft guided Q4 sales to $86.7–$87.8 billion, topping estimates. Call options dominate near-term expiry stacks — traders are leaning bullish off the print. That momentum feeds into a packed Wednesday-through-Thursday earnings calendar headlined by AAPL, which reports after the close tonight. With a near-$4 trillion market cap, Apple is the biggest test yet of how tariffs are biting tech supply chains.
Brent crude climbed back above $110 a barrel today. The move follows White House comments reiterating "red lines" in ongoing Iran negotiations. That price level is the highest in three weeks. Energy costs ripple across transport, manufacturing and freight — adding fresh headaches for companies already navigating tariff uncertainty. Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL), already downgraded by analysts this week, sits in the crossfire.
shares jumped after an earnings beat. Broader European markets closed lower, though, as Iran peace talks remained unresolved and the UAE's surprise OPEC exit rattled energy traders. The Bank of Japan held rates but raised its inflation forecast, warning corporate profits face headwinds from the conflict fallout.
Bears keep piling into Wolfspeed — SI % FF hit 49.9% with borrowable shares nearly exhausted. Avis Budget Group remains in a squeeze setup at 69% SI % FF. Meanwhile, Pentwater Capital filed over $1.75 billion in Avis sales last week. CoreWeave saw Magnetar Financial exit $410 million worth of its post-IPO position. GM offered a rare bright spot, flagging $500 million in expected tariff refunds — options activity around GM spiked on the news.
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