The Iran–U.S./Israel war continues to roil the Gulf as the UAE confirms its main gas processing complex—among the world’s largest—was badly damaged in a recent attack.
The facility is not expected to return to full capacity until 2027, worsening global energy supply concerns and helping keep oil prices elevated above $100 per barrel.
President Donald Trump has arrived in Beijing for a two‑day summit with China’s President Xi Jinping, accompanied by senior U.S. tech executives including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Elon Musk, along with other business leaders.
Markets are watching for signals on trade, technology access, and the degree of “opening” of the China market as talks begin late Wednesday U.S. time.
Russia has launched another major daytime attack on Ukrainian cities, prompting Poland and other NATO states to scramble jets.
The escalation highlights ongoing concerns over conflict spillover risks and the strain on Western air‑defense stockpiles.
U.S. producer price index (PPI) data for April came in hotter than expected, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve, led by Chair Kevin Warsh, will keep interest rates elevated for longer, with markets largely pricing out rate cuts for 2026.
Despite the inflation data, tech shares rebounded strongly after Tuesday’s sell‑off, helping to support broader U.S. equity indexes.
The S&P 500 closed at a record high and the Nasdaq also set a new record, led by megacap technology names such as Nvidia and other AI‑linked stocks, even as a majority of individual U.S. stocks declined. The Dow slipped slightly.
Oil prices remain elevated amid the Iran conflict, while 10‑year U.S. Treasury yields are edging toward 4.5% as investors seek higher compensation in the face of persistent inflation pressures.
European stocks were broadly firmer but ended mixed. Germany’s DAX outperformed on strong corporate earnings, including from Siemens and Merck, while France’s CAC 40 lagged.
In UK politics, Health Secretary Wes Streeting is reported to be preparing a leadership challenge, adding uncertainty in Westminster.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has begun testing its High Performance Spaceflight Computing processor, a radiation‑hardened, multicore system‑on‑a‑chip.
The new processor is designed to greatly increase onboard computing power and enable more autonomous, AI‑driven deep‑space missions compared with current spacecraft processors.
Earlier in May, astronomers using machine‑learning techniques on NASA’s TESS data reported 118 newly confirmed exoplanets, along with about 2,000 additional strong candidates.
This work significantly expands the known catalog of planets beyond our solar system.