Ship in the Strait of Hormuz near Bandar Abbas, Iran, May 4, 2026.
Amirhossein Khorgoy | Isna | Wana | via Reuters
Hello, my name is Hui Jie from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.
Within days of announcing “Project Freedom,” US President Donald Trump has suspended it, marking the latest development in the Middle East conflict.
What remains unstoppable is the tech-driven market rally, with chip stocks pushing U.S. benchmarks to record highs.
What you need to know today
The Iranian conflict is becoming more uncertain by the day, as both Iran and the United States continue to give mixed signals about a diplomatic solution.
Iran attacked the UAE on Monday and the US sank an Iranian ship on Monday, but the ceasefire is not over yet. Although the US government claims Iran has been “defeated,” Iran continues to threaten ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
And the latest development: Days after President Trump announced “Project Freedom” aimed at forcing the removal of ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz blockade, he suspended the plan, saying “significant progress has been made toward a full and final agreement” with Iran.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister is expected to arrive in China for talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. This is reportedly the first visit since the war began and comes ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China this month.
Investors reacted positively to this development, with futures prices for all three major indexes increasing. This follows a lively session on Wall Street. S&P500 and Nasdaq It set a record on the back of blockbuster profits.
advanced micro deviceThe company’s stock rose more than 16% in after-hours trading after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter results on a surge in demand for chips that power artificial intelligence workloads.
Shares rose 18% in after-hours trading after the supermicrocomputer server maker issued strong guidance, but fiscal third-quarter sales fell short of expectations.
Technology optimism also propelled semiconductor manufacturer Micron into the top 10 most valuable U.S. tech companies, with its stock price rising 11% and its market capitalization topping $700 billion for the first time.
While uncertainty over the Iran war looms large, positive signals of detente and a tech boom are boosting risk sentiment until the next big news.
And finally…
FDA retracts study showing coronavirus and shingles vaccines are safe
The FDA has blocked the publication of several studies supporting the safety of vaccines against the coronavirus and shingles in recent months, a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.
This is the latest effort by the Trump administration to challenge safe and effective shots in the United States and make them less accessible to some patients.
Under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic, federal health agencies have loosened recommendations for coronavirus vaccinations, cut back on vaccine development research and overhauled childhood immunization schedules.
— Annika Kim Constantino
