Finance

Global energy benchmarks plummeted as the United States and Iran temporarily suspended cross-border military strikes. West Texas Intermediate futures fell over 7% to settle near $83 per barrel, while Brent crude dropped roughly 6.6% to trade below $86. This sudden cooling of Middle East tensions provided significant relief to global inflationary fears and knocked down share prices of major energy producers.

Market participants are bracing for an intensely busy week dominated by central bank policies and corporate reporting. Investors are eagerly awaiting earnings releases from multiple 'Magnificent Seven' titans, focusing heavily on capital expenditure guidance and AI monetization metrics. Concurrently, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to conclude its two-day policy meeting, with futures traders pricing in a strong probability that interest rates will remain unchanged.

Shares of the consumer electronics giant bucked the broader technology downturn, edging closer to record levels. This pre-earnings momentum comes just ahead of the company's scheduled quarterly financial release, which will mark the final earnings presentation under current Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook. Wall Street analysts are closely tracking the company's performance following its recent hardware price increases designed to mitigate elevated memory component costs.