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Microsoft

Microsoft

$MSFT
NASDAQTechnology

436 stories mentioning MicrosoftUpdated 2d ago

Rose with tech stocks in a broad rally; its Xbox studio Compulsion Games is reportedly planning to shut down.

Wire

Microsoft to Expand Data Center Operations in Wyoming

Microsoft (MSFT) said Tuesday it plans to buy 3,200 acres of land to expand its data center operations in Cheyenne, Wyoming.The tech giant said it also developed a utility partnership with Black Hills (BKH) unit Black Hills Energy where power acquisition is guided by the large power contract service tariff that requires Microsoft to directly pay for all infrastructure upgrades and power procured.Microsoft will focus on bringing additional renewable energy to the Western Electricity Coordinating Council, as well as minimizing its water usage, it said.The datacenter project will create jobs for residents as the company plans to bolster community relationship by facilitating IT training and nonprofits, the company stated.Shares of Microsoft and Black Hills rose 1.8% and 4%, respectively, in afternoon trading.Price: $391.38, Change: $+7.01, Percent Change: +1.82%

$BKH$MSFT
Wire

Market Chatter: Microsoft to Rent Norway Data-Center Capacity Initially Set for OpenAI

Microsoft (MSFT) will rent data center capacity from Nscale at a campus in Narvik, Norway, first intended for OpenAI, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing Nscale and people familiar with the initial discussions.Microsoft will rent 30,000 additional Nvidia (NVDA) Vera Rubin chips at the site, building on a prior $6.2 billion commitment, after OpenAI failed to reach an agreement with Nscale to run its workloads at the campus under its Stargate initiative, the report said.Microsoft and OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment from.(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)Price: $394.25, Change: $+9.88, Percent Change: +2.57%

$MSFT$NVDA
Commodities

Exchange-Traded Funds, Equity Futures Lower Pre-Bell Tuesday Amid Hopes of Long-Term US-Iran Truce

The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 0.2% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.4% higher in Tuesday's premarket activity amid hopes of a long-term truce between Iran and the US.US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.3%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.5% before the start of regular trading.The National Federation of Independent Business said its Small Business Optimism Index fell to 95.8 in March from 98.8 in February, marking the lowest level since April 2025.US producer prices rose 0.5% in March, below expectations for a 1.1% increase and matching the prior month's gain.Core producer prices, which exclude food and energy, gained 0.1% in March, below forecasts for a 0.4% increase and slowing from a 0.3% advance in the prior month.Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee and Fed Governor Michael Barr are due to speak today.In premarket activity, bitcoin was up by 1.3%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 1.5% higher, Ether ETF (EETH) advanced 4.8%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) gained 1%.Power Play:IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) advanced 0.3%, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was up 0.3% and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was 0.6% higher.American Airlines (AAL) stock was gaining more than 8% in premarket activity, while United Airlines (UAL) was up more than 3% before the opening bell after Reuters reported that United Chief Executive Scott Kirby proposed a potential combination with American during a late February meeting with President Donald Trump.Winners and Losers:Health CareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) retreated 0.04%, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was 1% higher, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) was inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was up 0.5%.Novo Nordisk (NVO) stock was up more than 3% premarket after the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved a new single-dose 7.2 mg of Wegovy to treat adults with obesity. The company also announced a partnership with OpenAI to deploy advanced AI across its operations.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) retreated by 0.2%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was down 0.6%, while its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), was 0.6% higher.BlackRock (BLK) shares were up more than 2% pre-bell after the company reported higher Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was down 0.6%, and the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) was up 0.4%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) gained 0.5%. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) advanced by 0.5%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was 1.2% lower.Tesla's (TSLA) shares were up more than 1% pre-bell after Dutch vehicle regulator RDW said it has informed the European Commission of its intention to seek approval for Tesla's Full-Self Driving system across the European Union.TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) advanced 0.7%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.6% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was up 0.8%. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) gained 2.5% while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose by 1.2%.Microsoft (MSFT) shares were up more than 1% in Tuesday's premarket activity. Bloomberg News reported, citing Chief Sustainability Officer Melanie Nakagawa, that the company's carbon removal program "has not ended."EnergyThe iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was down 0.2%, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) retreated by 0.6%.BP (BP) stock was up nearly 1% before Tuesday's opening bell after the company said that it expects "exceptional" results from its oil trading business for Q1 2026, amid the spike in prices driven by the US and Israeli war against Iran.CommoditiesFront-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell by 2.6% to $96.48 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas retreated by 1.8% to $2.58 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) declined by 0.7%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1.7% lower.Gold futures for May were up by 0.6% at $4,797.10 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures rose by 3% to $77.92 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was 0.5% higher, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) advanced by 2.5%.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$AAL$BETH$BITO$BLK$BP$EEM$EETH$EXI$FAS$FAZ$GLD$IBB$IGM$IGV$IPK$IVV$IWM$IYE$IYH$IYJ$IYK$IYW$MSFT$NVO$PMR$QQQ$RTH$SLV$SOXX$SPY$TSLA$UAL$UNG$USO$VDC$VHT$VIS$XLE$XLF$XLI$XLK$XLP$XLV$XLY$XRT$XSD
US Markets

Nasdaq Extends Rally to 9th Day as Tech Stocks Jump

The Nasdaq Composite advanced for the ninth straight session on Monday as US equity markets benefited from a jump in technology stocks.The Nasdaq climbed 1.2% to 23,183.7, while the S&P 500 added 1% to 6,886.2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to 48,218.3. Barring utilities and consumer staples, all sectors ended in the green, led by tech and financials.Oracle (ORCL) shares surged nearly 13%, the top gainer on the S&P 500. The company said it introduced artificial intelligence-focused updates to its utilities software suite at its customer edge summit, targeting improvements in billing, grid operations, and asset management.ServiceNow (NOW), Dell Technologies (DELL), Salesforce (CRM) and Microsoft (MSFT) were among tech stocks that registered gains.US earnings growth expectations appear to have shrugged off uncertainty around the Iran war, with markets betting on stronger corporate results this year than those projected before the war began, BlackRock Investment Institute said in a note on Monday.BlackRock upgraded its rating on US stocks to overweight from neutral, saying the Middle East conflict will likely drive limited economic damage.Oil prices, which jumped above $100 per barrel earlier on Monday amid a US blockade of maritime traffic around Iran's ports, pared gains, with West Texas Intermediate crude oil last up 1.3% at $97.83. Brent advanced 3.1% to $98.18.The blockade started at 10 am ET Monday. The development came after the US and Iran failed to reach a deal during negotiations in Pakistan over the weekend, fueling concerns over an already fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.US President Donald Trump said Iran called this morning and that "they'd like to work a deal," according to a Reuters report. Despite the failed peace talks, a two-week ceasefire announced last week still holds.Trump's remarks come as Iran has vowed to retaliate following the US blockade, CNN reported. The Iran-controlled strait has been effectively shut since the war began at the end of February.Trump is mulling over limited strikes against Iran following the failed negotiations, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation."As the conflict with Iran enters its seventh week, persistent concern about the time it will take to arrive at an effective resolution to the conflict will, however, likely remain for now as a negative overhang for market participants to navigate," said John Stoltzfus, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer Asset Management.Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries lowered its second-quarter oil demand forecast due to the Middle East conflict, but maintained its full-year estimates amid expectations for a rebound in the second half.US Treasury yields were lower, with the 10-year rate last down 4.7 basis points at 4.29% and the two-year rate dropping 2.7 basis points to 3.78%.In company news, Goldman Sachs (GS) on Monday posted first-quarter results above market estimates, while Chief Executive David Solomon said a protracted Middle East conflict could pose upside risks to inflation. The lender's shares fell 1.9%, the worst performer on the Dow.JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), and Citigroup (C) are scheduled to release their quarterly results on Tuesday, while Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) will announce their results on Wednesday. Outside the banking sector, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Netflix (NFLX) and PepsiCo (PEP) are set to release their results this week.In economic news, US existing home sales decreased in March as softening job growth and weaker consumer confidence continued to deter potential buyers, data from the National Association of Realtors showed.Gold was last down 0.4% at $4,766.30 per troy ounce, while silver dropped 1.1% to $75.67 per ounce.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$BAC$C$CRM$DELL$GS$JNJ$JPM$MS$MSFT$NFLX$NOW$ORCL$PEP$WFC
International

US Equity Indexes Rise Amid Gains in Tech, Financials; Crude Oil Pares Gains on Hopes for Iran Deal

US equity indexes rose, with financials and technology topping sector charts, and crude oil futures paring gains after President Donald Trump attempted to cool geopolitical tensions.The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.2% to 23,183.74, the S&P 500 climbed 1% to 6,886.24, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.6% to 48,218.25. Defensive sectors -- consumer staples and utilities -- were the lone decliners.All three indexes clawed back intraday declines after President Trump said that "we've been called by the other side," referring to Iran. The US-Tehran talks in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, over the weekend ended without a lasting peace pact, as uranium enrichment and the Strait of Hormuz remained the main sticking points."They'd like to make a deal very badly," Trump was cited as saying in media reports.West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose 1.6% to $98.14, and Brent crude futures climbed 3.2% to $98.27, after surging more than 7.5% each intraday.The CBOE Volatility Index slipped 0.6% to 19.12, after touching an intraday high of 21.58.US Treasury yields mostly fell, with the 10-year yield down 2.2 basis points to 4.30%, after rates rose across most of the yield curve earlier in the session.Trump's comments come as the US military blockade on all traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports came into effect on Monday, CNN reported.More than 15 US warships are in place to support the operation, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a senior official."If any of these ships [that the president refers to as Iran's 'fast attack ships'] come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED," Trump said on his Truth Social post. Iran said no port in the Persian Gulf or the Sea of Oman would be safe if its ports are threatened, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.A US blockade might stop Iran's flow of oil revenue without destroying or capturing Iran's Kharg Island oil loading point, and so "potentially avoid escalatory Iranian attacks on its Gulf neighbors," according to a note from the Wells Fargo Investment Institute.Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs (GS), which reported higher Q1 earnings and net revenue pre-bell, is launching a new three-tranche offering in the US investment-grade debt market, with bond maturities spanning four to eight years, Bloomberg said Monday, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter.The Q1 earnings season has begun in earnest with the release of Goldman Sachs' quarterly results. Mega-cap banks, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), and Morgan Stanley (MS), will report this week.Further in company news, Oracle (ORCL) said Monday it introduced AI-focused updates to its utilities software suite at its customer edge summit, targeting improvements in billing, grid operations, and asset management. Shares of the technology giant were up 13%, the top gainer on the S&P 500.Microsoft (MSFT), Salesforce (CRM), and ServiceNow's (NOW) recent sell-offs amid the broader software disposal are disconnected from the artificial intelligence opportunities over the coming years, Wedbush said Monday. Shares of Salesforce and Microsoft were up 4.8% and 3.6%, respectively, the Dow's top gainers.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$BAC$C$CRM$GS$JPM$MS$MSFT$NOW$ORCL
Sectors

Sector Update: Tech Stocks Gain Late Afternoon

Tech stocks were higher late Monday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) rising 1.7% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) adding 2.4%.The Philadelphia Semiconductor index climbed 1.4%.In corporate news, Oracle (ORCL) said it introduced AI-focused updates to its utilities software suite at its customer edge summit, targeting improvements in billing, grid operations, and asset management. Oracle shares jumped 12%.The recent sell-offs in Microsoft (MSFT), Salesforce (CRM), and ServiceNow (NOW) amid broader software apathy are disconnected from the AI opportunities over the coming years, as enterprises prioritize integrating AI across tech stacks, Wedbush said in a note. Shares of Salesforce and Microsoft were up 4.7% and 3.2%, respectivelyIntel (INTC) is seen with a modest upside bias to its fiscal Q1 results and full-year outlook, driven by resilient PC demand and a sharp inflection in server CPU demand, along with pricing gains of roughly 10%, UBS Securities said in a note. UBS maintained its neutral rating on the stock but raised its price target to $65 from $51. Intel shares rose 4.4%.

$CRM$INTC$MSFT$ORCL
Wire

Sector Update: Tech Stocks Gain Monday Afternoon

Tech stocks were higher Monday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) rising 1.4% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) adding 2.2%.The Philadelphia Semiconductor index increased 0.8%.In corporate news, Microsoft (MSFT) is developing new features for Copilot it hopes will make the AI assistant function more like OpenClaw, The Information reported. Microsoft was up 2.9%.Amazon-backed (AMZN) Anthropic's latest AI model Claude Mythos has prompted UK financial regulators to assess risks it poses to IT systems, the Financial Times. Amazon shares were little changed.Meta Platforms (META) is developing an AI version of Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg that can interact with employees, the Financial Times reported. Meta shares were flat.Aeluma (ALMU) shares surged 44% after the company said it has been awarded more than $4 million in contracts to scale the US government's semiconductor heterogeneous integration platform for quantum and high-speed datacom applications.

$ALMU$AMZN$META$MSFT
International

US Equity Indexes Rise Amid Tech Gains; Crude Oil Jumps as Hormuz Blockade Takes Effect

US equity indexes were higher in Monday's midday trading amid gains in technology and financials.Crude oil futures jumped as geopolitical risk mounted after Iran negotiations failed to yield a lasting peace deal.The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.7% to 23,061.8, and the S&P 500 climbed 0.5% to 6,849.6. Both gauges traded lower earlier in the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was slightly up at 47,944.8.Defensive sectors -- consumer staples and utilities -- led the decliners. The financial services sector was among the top gainers, ahead of quarterly earnings from mega-cap banks due this week.Goldman Sachs (GS), which reported higher Q1 earnings and net revenue pre-bell, is launching a new three-tranche offering in the US investment-grade debt market, with bond maturities spanning four to eight years, Bloomberg said Monday, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter.Shares of the investment bank dropped 2.5% intraday, the steepest decline on the Dow.Further in company news, Oracle (ORCL) said it introduced AI-focused updates to its utilities software suite at its customer edge summit, targeting improvements in billing, grid operations, and asset management. Shares of the technology giant were up 11% intraday, the top gainer on the S&P 500.The recent sell-offs in Microsoft (MSFT), Salesforce (CRM), and ServiceNow (NOW) amid broader software apathy are disconnected from the artificial intelligence opportunities over the coming years, as enterprises prioritize integrating AI across tech stacks, Wedbush said in a note. Shares of Salesforce and Microsoft were up 4.7% and 2.9%, respectively, intraday, the Dow's top gainers.Meanwhile, the CBOE Volatility Index was still up 3.7% to 19.93, after touching an intraday high of 21.58, as geopolitical risk remained elevated after the Iran peace talks brokered by Pakistan ended without an agreement with the US.The US military blockade on all traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports started at 10 a.m. ET Monday, after weekend peace talks in Pakistan faltered, CNN reported Monday. "If any of these ships [a reference to what the president calls Iran's 'fast attack ships'] come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED," President Donald Trump said on a social media post.Iran responded by saying that no port in the Persian Gulf or the Sea of Oman would be safe if its ports are threatened, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday."Once again, high stakes negotiations between the US and Iran deadlocked over Washington's zero uranium enrichment demand, setting the stage for further escalation in the 6-week war and prolonged supply disruptions in advance of summer driving season," Helima Croft, head of global commodity strategy and MENA research at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note.West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures jumped 5.3% to $101.68, and Brent crude futures climbed 5.5% to $100.40, after surging more than 7.5% earlier in the session.US Treasury yields rose as gains in crude oil futures reignited inflation concerns. The 10-year yield was up 1.6 basis points to 4.33%, and the two-year rate climbed 1.3 basis points to 3.81%. In precious metals, gold futures fell 1.3% to $4,726.9 and silver futures declined 3.3% to $73.97.In US economic news, the pace of US existing home sales fell by 3.6% to a 3.98 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in March from 4.13 million in February, compared with a smaller decrease expected to a 4.05 million rate in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:30 am ET, data from the National Association of Realtors released Monday showed. Total sales were down 1% from a year earlier."March home sales remained sluggish and below last year's pace," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Lower consumer confidence and softer job growth continue to hold back buyers."

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$CRM$GS$MSFT$NOW$ORCL
Sectors

Sector Update: Tech

Tech stocks were higher Monday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) rising 1.4% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) adding 2.2%.The Philadelphia Semiconductor index increased 0.8%.In corporate news, Microsoft (MSFT) is developing new features for Copilot it hopes will make the AI assistant function more like OpenClaw, The Information reported. Microsoft shares were up 2.8%.

$MSFT
Wire

Top Midday Stories: Goldman Shares Fall Despite Q1 Earnings Topping Estimates; Revolution's Pancreatic Cancer Drug Met Key Study Goals

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up in late-morning trading Monday, as Wall Street digests news from the weekend that the US and Iran failed to strike a deal, and President Donald Trump announced a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.In company news, Goldman Sachs (GS) reported Q1 earnings Monday of $17.55 per diluted share, up from $14.12 a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of $16.47. First-quarter net revenue was $17.23 billion, up from $15.06 billion a year ago and above the FactSet consensus of $16.99 billion. The company also said it's launching a three-tranche, investment-grade bond offering in the US, with bond maturities spanning four to eight years, Bloomberg reported, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Goldman shares were down 3.6% around midday.Revolution Medicines (RVMD) said Monday the phase 3 trial of its experimental drug, daraxonrasib, intended to treat a type of pancreatic cancer, met key goals. The drug delivered a median overall survival of 13.2 months, compared with 6.7 months for chemotherapy, the company said. Revolution said it plans to submit the data to global regulators, including the US Food and Drug Administration, for marketing application. Revolution shares were up 36.4%.GFL Environmental (GFL) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Secure Waste Infrastructure for 24.75 Canadian dollars per share, representing an enterprise value of about CA$6.4 billion ($4.62 billion), the companies said Monday. The deal is expected to close in H2, they said. GFL shares were down 7.8%.Fastenal (FAST) reported Q1 earnings Monday of $0.30 per diluted share, up from $0.26 a year earlier and in-line with the FactSet consensus. First-quarter net sales were $2.20 billion, up from $1.96 billion a year ago and in-line with expectations. Fastenal shares were down 6.7%.Conagra Brands (CAG) said Monday it has appointed John Brase as chief executive officer and president, effective June 1. Brase, who previously served as chief operating officer and president at J.M. Smucker (SJM), will succeed Sean Connolly, who will step away from his leadership positions and board seat on May 31, the company said. Conagra shares were down 5.6%, while J.M. Smucker shares were down 2.7%.Microsoft (MSFT) is developing new features for Copilot it hopes will make the AI assistant function more like OpenClaw, The Information reported Monday, citing a company statement. Microsoft shares were up 2.3%.Price: $874.99, Change: $-32.81, Percent Change: -3.61%

$CAG$FAST$GFL$GS$MSFT$RVMD$SJM
Wire

Microsoft, Salesforce Recent Sell-Offs Disconnected From Emerging AI Monetization Opportunities, Wedbush Says

Microsoft (MSFT), Salesforce (CRM) and ServiceNow's (NOW) recent sell-offs amid the broader software disposal are disconnected from the AI opportunities over the coming years, with enterprises moving to integrate AI across their tech stacks on a priority, Wedbush said in a note Monday.The brokerage said its tech team has seen a rapid pace of enterprise AI adoption over the past few weeks, as per conversations with multiple customers and partners across the board including throughout Asia, furthering its enterprise software sector AI monetization thesis.Increased AI usage is also lowering the cost and skill required to execute sophisticated cyber attacks, Wedbush said, adding that AI in cybersecurity does not reduce the need for endpoints and their vendors, but multiplies it as more enterprises deploy LLM-powered agents, meaning more run-time monitoring and identity governance.In this context, Wedbush said its favorites included CrowdStrike (CRWD), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Zscaler (ZS), Check Point Software (CHKP), and Rubrik (RBRK).Price: $378.62, Change: $+7.75, Percent Change: +2.09%

$CHKP$CRM$CRWD$MSFT$NOW$PANW$RBRK$ZS
Commodities

Nuclear Fusion Industry Expanding; Commercial Plants Expected in 5 Years, Wood Mackenzie Says

The nuclear fusion industry is accelerating, thanks to recent technological breakthroughs enabling several companies to power commercial-scale fusion plants within the next five years, Wood Mackenzie said Friday.According to the research firm, the number of operational fusion machines and projects in the pipeline have increased 15% and 53%, respectively, since 2022.As one of the recent breakthroughs, Helion Energy's fusion machine reached a record plasma temperature of 150 million degrees Celsius, about ten times the temperature at the center of the sun.The startup company expects to begin operations at its first fusion plant in 2028, backed by a 50-megawatt power purchase agreement with Microsoft (MSFT) and a potential 5-gigawatt deal with OpenAI.Commonwealth Fusion Systems, meanwhile, aims to develop a grid-scale fusion generation plant in Virginia in the early 2030s, supported by a 200-MW power purchase agreement with Alphabet's (GOOG) Google.Another fusion company, Inertia, plans to break ground on its first grid-scale pilot plant in 2030, having raised $450 million in financing in February."If the fusion companies can deliver working plants on that timeline, they will be able to keep pace with suppliers of small modular reactors, the new generation of fission plants," Wood Mackenzie said.SMRs are expected to account for a large portion of the 523 GW next-generation nuclear capacity projected by 2050, although fusion plants will likely take some of the market, especially after 2040, according to the research firm.Supportive policies and private sector involvement have been critical to fusion industry's expansion.The US government's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy has recently announced a $135 million commitment to help advance related technologies, while private companies have raised around $10.5 billion globally to support the industry.Wood Mackenzie projects that investments in fusion power will reach about $15 billion by the end of this year."Countries' efforts to reduce their reliance on imported oil and gas will add fresh impetus to the sector's growth," the research firm said, noting that a prolonged Middle East conflict could reduce regions' dependence on energy imports by half in 2050."Fusion power could make an initially small but growing contribution to that," Wood Mackenzie said.

$GOOG$MSFT
Equities

Social Buzz: Wallstreetbets Stocks Mixed Pre-Bell Monday; W&T to Advance, Trump Media to Fall

The most-talked-about stocks in the Reddit subforum Wallstreetbets were mixed hours before Monday's opening bell.W&T Offshore (WTI) rose by 7.4% pre-bell, swinging from a 0.4% fall at Friday's close.Palantir Technologies (PLTR) was up 2.2% premarket, reversing a 1.9% decline from Friday's session.Sandisk (SNDK) advanced by 1.7% in pre-bell activity, following a slight drop from the previous session.Antero Midstream (AM) was 0.2% higher hours before market open, swinging from a 0.8% decrease Friday.Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) fell by 1.5% premarket, after closing Friday with a 1.4% gain.EnCore Energy (EU) was 0.6% lower in premarket hours, following a 2.7% fall in the previous session.DTE Energy (DTE) fell by 0.5% in pre-bell activity, after closing Friday with a 0.9% decline.Microsoft (MSFT) was down 0.4% pre-bell, after a 0.6% fall in the previous session.

$AM$DJT$DTE$EU$MSFT$PLTR$SNDK$WTI
US Markets

Cloudflare Sell-Off Offers Buying Opportunity as Project Glasswing Concerns 'Overblown,' Oppenheimer Says

Cloudflare's (NET) stock sell-off offers a buying opportunity, while concerns around Project Glasswing are "overblown" as the cloud-services company is seen benefitting from a projected exponential growth in agentic artificial intelligence applications, Oppenheimer said Friday.Oppenheimer's upbeat outlook for Cloudflare comes as its shares tumbled 8.6% Thursday, which the brokerage attributed to competitive concerns around Anthropic's Project Glasswing initiative and a broader market weakness. Cloudflare shares were down 13% in Friday late-afternoon trade, bringing its year-to-date losses to nearly 15%.Project Glasswing is a cross-industry coalition formed to "secure the world's most critical software," Anthropic said in a statement. The alliance, which will be using Anthropic's unreleased Claude Mythos frontier model, includes Amazon (AMZN) Web Services, Apple (AAPL), Broadcom (AVGO), Cisco (CSCO), CrowdStrike (CRWD), Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google, JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA), and Palo Alto Networks (PANW).Cloudflare is not part of the coalition.The concerns over Project Glasswing are "overblown," with the Cloudflare stock sell-off providing a "tactical buying opportunity," Oppenheimer analysts Param Singh and Jake Heimowitz said in a note to clients Friday. Claude Mythos will "proactively find and fix vulnerabilities across critical infrastructure," they said."We want to highlight that Cloudflare's security sales are tied to its physical network, which is necessary to funnel data traffic," the analysts wrote. "We see Cloudflare as a beneficiary of this growing sophistication in frontier models, which will support exponential growth in agentic AI applications and benefit Cloudflare across delivery, security, and compute."Cloudflare handles roughly 20% of global internet traffic volume, with Oppenheimer seeing the company as a share gainer and beneficiary from an "increasingly agentic web," the analysts said. Agentic AI is expected to drive data traffic growth at a compound annual growth rate of more than 20%, according to the note.The brokerage, which has an outperform rating on the Cloudflare stock, said its checks indicate an accelerating customer spend with the company amid "higher security module and compute attach."Price: $167.26, Change: $-25.79, Percent Change: -13.36%

$AAPL$AMZN$AVGO$CRWD$CSCO$GOOG$GOOGL$JPM$MSFT$NET$NVDA$PANW
Sectors

Sector Update: Tech Stocks Gain Friday Afternoon

Tech stocks were higher Friday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) up 0.3% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) rising 1.8%.The Philadelphia Semiconductor index climbed 2.3%.In corporate news, CoreWeave (CRWV) shares jumped 11% after the AI cloud computing company struck a deal to support the development and deployment of Anthropic's Claude AI models.Commvault Systems (CVLT) is exploring a sale after receiving takeover interest from multiple private equity firms and strategic buyers, Reuters reported. The data protection software provider is working with Goldman Sachs (GS) to weigh its options, the report said. Commvault shares popped 10%.Microsoft-backed (MSFT) OpenAI and its ChatGPT are under investigation by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier over potential national security risks and alleged links to criminal activity, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Subpoenas are expected as part of the probe, which raises concerns about possible misuse of AI by foreign adversaries, including China, the report said, citing Uthmeier. Microsoft shares were down 0.7%.

$CRWV$CVLT$MSFT
Sectors

Sector Update: Tech Stocks Higher Late Afternoon

Tech stocks were higher late Thursday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) up 0.2% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) adding 1.2%.The Philadelphia Semiconductor index climbed 1.9%.In corporate news, Microsoft-backed (MSFT) OpenAI said on X that it is offering a new ChatGPT Pro tier for $100 per month. Also, OpenAI expects to report $2.5 billion in ad revenue this year and $100 billion by 2030, Axios reported. Microsoft shares eased 0.3%.Applied Digital (APLD) shares dropped past 7% following its fiscal Q3 results.CoreWeave (CRWV) agreed to supply AI cloud capacity to Meta Platforms (META) in a $21 billion deal as they expanded their partnership amid robust demand for infrastructure supporting AI workloads. Meta was up 2.7%, and CoreWeave climbed 3.6%.Intel (INTC) and Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google have expanded a multiyear agreement to develop AI and cloud infrastructure using Xeon processors and custom infrastructure processing units, the companies said Thursday. Intel shares gained 4.5%, and Alphabet increased 0.5%.

$APLD$CRWV$GOOGL$INTC$META$MSFT

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