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FINWIRES

US Equity Markets Fall After Iran Blocks Strait, Stalls Peace Talks; Crude Oil Jumps

-- US equity indexes closed lower on Monday after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again and refused to continue peace talks, claiming the US "did not fulfill their obligations," sending crude oil prices sharply higher.

* The second round of US and Iran peace talks was planned to start in Islamabad on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported. While Tehran hasn't publicly confirmed its participation, it has told regional mediators that it would send a team to negotiate, the report said.

* President Donald Trump said he's not likely to extend the two-week ceasefire with Iran, increasing the urgency for negotiators to conclude a deal to end the war, Bloomberg reported.

* May West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose $4.92 to settle at $88.77 per barrel, while June Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $4.67 at $95.05.

* Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google is negotiating with Marvell Technology (MRVL) to develop two new processors optimized for AI inference tasks, The Information reported. Marvell shares rose 5.8%, the second-biggest gain on the Nasdaq.

* Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) shares fell 3.5%, the fourth-largest drop on the S&P 500, amid heightening tensions in the Middle East.

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Australia

Intel Poised for 'Slight Beat' Amid Solid Server CPU Demand, RBC Says

Intel (INTC) is expected to report a "slight beat" in its fiscal first-quarter results amid robust server central processing unit demand, RBC Capital Markets said in a note e-mailed Tuesday.On Thursday, the chipmaker is likely to post adjusted per-share earnings and revenue above RBC's projections for breakeven and $12.20 billion, respectively, for the March quarter, according to the brokerage. The current consensus on FactSet is for non-GAAP EPS of $0.02 and sales of $12.42 billion."We expect a slight beat/raise driven by strong server CPU demand," RBC analyst Srini Pajjuri said. "(Personal computer) market also appears to be holding up for now."First-quarter revenue in the company's data center and artificial intelligence segment is pegged at $4.3 billion, representing a 3% annual gain, with room for potential upside, according to RBC."While demand remains strong, management expected internal wafer supply constraints to be most acute in (the first quarter) which could limit near-term upside," Pajjuri wrote. "Recent media reports point to Intel raising prices which should help."For the current quarter, RBC expects Intel to issue an outlook above Wall Street's estimates of $13.1 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of $0.09, driven by server CPU demand and improving wafer supply.The data center and AI business is projected to see sequential growth of 10% in the second quarter, with RBC seeing potential upside amid improving supply and healthy pricing. The brokerage expects server demand to continue to benefit from agentic AI and sees industry supply remaining "tight" through 2026, it said in the note.RBC maintained its sector perform rating on Intel's stock with a $48 price target.The company's shares were up 0.3% in Tuesday afternoon trade, bringing its year-to-gains to nearly 79%.Last year, the US government agreed to invest $8.9 billion in Intel's common stock as part of a deal to secure a stake in the company. Separately, Nvidia (NVDA) agreed to inject $5 billion in Intel under a collaboration that aims to develop new data center and PC chips.Price: $66.04, Change: $+0.34, Percent Change: +0.52%

$INTC$NVDA
Australia

Scholastic Reports Preliminary Results of Dutch Auction Tender Offer

Scholastic (SCHL) on Tuesday announced preliminary results from its modified Dutch auction tender offer, which closed on Monday.The company said that shareholders tendered a total of about 2.85 million shares at or below the $40 per share purchase price, including about 1 million shares that were tendered by notice of guaranteed delivery.Based on the preliminary count, Scholastic expects to purchase all properly tendered shares at $40 each, for a total cost of about $114.1 million, excluding fees and expenses, it added.The company said that following completion of the offer, it expects nearly 17.9 million shares to remain outstanding, representing a reduction of about 13.7% in its share count.Shares of Scholastic rose 2.3% in the session.Price: $40.69, Change: $+0.93, Percent Change: +2.34%

$SCHL
Sectors

Sector Update: Financial

Financial stocks were declining in Tuesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index decreasing 0.7% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) off 0.6%.The Philadelphia Housing Index was adding 0.6%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) fell 1.8%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was decreasing 0.9% to $75,117, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 5 basis points to 4.30%.In corporate news, Coinbase (COIN) and Gemini Titan have been sued by New York Attorney General Letitia James for allegedly violating the state laws against against illegal gambling with their prediction markets, Reuters reported, citing complaints filed in a state court in Manhattan. Coinbase shares fell nearly 7%.

$COIN