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Hello, my name is Anique Bao from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.
Markets had a strong day on Monday, with lower oil prices, lower yields and a surge in semiconductor manufacturers.
Against this backdrop, the situation is developing in the run-up to Thursday, when Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrives in Washington for his second meeting this year with US President Donald Trump.
What you need to know today
Stocks rose as AI stocks drove further gains on Wall Street, with oil prices and Treasury yields both falling.
The S&P 500 rose 1.5%, its highest since early August, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 2.3%, its highest closing price since June, due to a rush to chip makers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose a more modest 0.7%.
Oil prices briefly dipped below $100, with West Texas Intermediate futures down 4.5% to $95.78 a barrel, and international Brent crude hit a trading low of $98.98 before settling at $100.34, easing inflation concerns that had weighed on the market for weeks.
U.S. Treasury yields fell from 20-year highs after last month’s interest rate hike as traders refrained from betting on further Fed tightening. Stock futures were little changed in early trading.
President Trump indicated he was open to talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week, but Tehran has not confirmed their mutual interest. While President Trump continues to entertain sanctions and military options, the prospect of talks, along with signs that disruption to Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline is not as serious as feared, was enough to remove the war premium.
Bitcoin surpassed $86,000 on Monday, briefly hitting $86,349.90, its highest level since late January, extending a surge in recent days but still well below its October 2025 high of $126,000.
Bitwise CIO Matt Hogan called the move the start of “crypto spring,” with BTIG offering $90,000 as the next test if the $75,000 support level holds. The debate continues despite the Senate blocking the Clarity Act, which would provide a regulatory framework for the asset class.
Five flashpoints in the Trump-Xi meeting
Xi is scheduled to arrive at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday at 4 p.m., making Trump only the second president to meet in person at the airport this term, after President Vladimir Putin in August 2025 — and a state dinner is scheduled for Thursday at the White House.
However, its content may turn out to be narrower than flashy. Analysts expect the two leaders to extend the trade ceasefire agreed in Busan, South Korea, last October and set up a “trade committee” for non-sensitive products, but there has been little progress on a parallel investment framework.
China’s AI research institutes have been closing the gap with their U.S. rivals this year. This further boosts Beijing’s confidence since China became the first major economy to retaliate against the Trump administration’s “Liberation Day” tariffs in April 2025, adding another item to Washington’s list of concerns: staying ahead of China in the AI race.
A number of US CEOs are expected to attend President Trump’s state dinner, but the US has not yet received visa applications from Chinese company attendees, CNBC reported.
On the other hand, discussions regarding Taiwan are expected to take a back seat compared to Iran.
Washington withdraws from AI consensus
Washington’s message to AI developers is blunt. The downside to a rapidly evolving model is that they are in control. Bessent told CNBC that the administration has no intention of handing a shield of federal liability to AI developers, saying, “Humans are to blame, not AI.”
To manage recursive self-improvement, OpenAI proposed Reverse Instinct at a global level, the ability to upgrade the model itself without human input, building on existing AI safety institutions.
“Safely navigating this transition will require tuning research to accommodate these capabilities so that the systems we and others build remain aligned with human values and remain under human control,” the company said in a blog post.
Elsewhere: Pharmaceutical and Automotive Provided
Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks told CNBC that hundreds of thousands of seniors have started GLP-1 therapy since Medicare coverage of the obesity drug began in July, and Lilly has acquired about seven in 10 of them.
Meanwhile, Nissan is considering moving to three-shift production at its Smyrna, Tenn., and Canton, Mississippi, plants, which would boost annual U.S. production from about 487,000 to 1 million vehicles without building new plants.
Thursday will tell whether the US and Chinese governments can match Monday’s market mood. Oil stocks and chip stocks do not have a trade agreement.
— Anique Bao
And finally…
What Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline closure means for Asia’s biggest oil importer
The closure of Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline will strain already scarce oil supplies for Asia’s four biggest oil importers, with South Korea seen as the most directly affected.
According to the Korea International Trade Association, Saudi crude oil accounted for 34.1% of South Korea’s crude oil imports in July. It accounts for 27.3% of imports into Japan, according to government data, and 14.9% of imports from China, according to customs data. In India, this figure is 10.2%, according to Kpler data.
Although the Asian market’s dependence on Saudi crude oil is not directly reflected in the number of barrels affected by pipeline closures, Strait of Hormuz export restrictions have shifted a significant amount of Saudi exports to the port of Yanbu, which is connected to western pipelines.
— Matthew Tan
