Today: 18 May 2026

Gold price slides as dollar firms and Treasury yields climb, even with Middle East risk

Gold price slides as dollar firms and Treasury yields climb, even with Middle East risk

Spot gold dropped 1.2% to $5,075.54 an ounce by 1648 GMT Thursday as the dollar index rose 0.5% and U.S. 10-year Treasury yields hit a three-week high. The fall erased earlier gains driven by safe-haven demand amid escalating U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran. Traders are watching Friday’s U.S. jobs report and the Fed’s March 18 policy decision. Spot silver fell 1.9% to $81.83.
5 March 2026
UK stock market today: FTSE 100 falls 1.5% as oil jumps; Rentokil and Admiral gain, Wizz Air drops

UK stock market today: FTSE 100 falls 1.5% as oil jumps; Rentokil and Admiral gain, Wizz Air drops

London’s FTSE 100 fell 1.5% to 10,413.94 on Thursday as oil prices surged and investors scaled back bets on Bank of England rate cuts. Rentokil Initial and Admiral rose after posting higher profits, while Wizz Air and Reckitt dropped on outlook warnings. The FTSE 250 lost 0.9%. Brent crude traded near $84.41 a barrel.
Circle Internet Group stock ticks up as Iran conflict lifts oil and revives USDC rate tailwind

Circle Internet Group stock ticks up as Iran conflict lifts oil and revives USDC rate tailwind

Circle Internet Group shares rose 1.9% to $107.23 Thursday as oil prices surged on Middle East tensions, fueling inflation concerns. Mizuho raised its Circle price target to $100, citing the company’s interest income from USDC reserves. Brent crude climbed over 3% to $84.38 a barrel. Circle recently reported stronger-than-expected revenue on higher USDC circulation and reserve income.
5 March 2026
India stock market today: Nifty, Sensex rebound 1% as Reliance, metals spark a late-week bounce

India stock market today: Nifty, Sensex rebound 1% as Reliance, metals spark a late-week bounce

Nifty 50 rose 1.17% to 24,765.90 and Sensex gained 1.14% to 80,015.90, snapping a three-day losing streak. Reliance climbed 3.3% after brokerages called its recent selloff overdone; metal stocks advanced on supply concerns. The rupee closed at 91.60 per dollar, up 0.6% after RBI intervention. Brent crude rose 3.66% to $84.38 a barrel amid shipping disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz.
Corning stock slides after Broadcom warns AI racks will stick with copper longer

Corning stock slides after Broadcom warns AI racks will stick with copper longer

Corning shares dropped 4.4% Thursday after Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said customers will stick with copper, not optical links, inside AI racks for now. Corning CFO Ed Schlesinger warned of a slower “scale-up” for AI networking, pointing to a possible inflection closer to 2028. Broadcom stock rose 5.3%, while Ciena fell 15.2%. Analysts see co-packaged optics adoption delayed by at least two years.
Salesforce launches Agentforce Health AI agents to cut healthcare paperwork, adding HealthEx, Verily and Viz.ai

Salesforce launches Agentforce Health AI agents to cut healthcare paperwork, adding HealthEx, Verily and Viz.ai

Salesforce launched six new Agentforce Health AI agents for healthcare providers, payers, and public health, with integrations from HealthEx, Verily, and Viz.ai. The release coincides with AWS and Google Cloud debuting similar agentic AI healthcare platforms. Salesforce shares rose 3.8% in morning trading. Some functions are available now, with more planned for June and later in 2026.
Robinhood rolls out $695 Platinum Card as it hunts wealthy clients and family money

Robinhood rolls out $695 Platinum Card as it hunts wealthy clients and family money

Robinhood launched a $695-a-year Platinum credit card and new family and wealth-planning features, including custodial and trust accounts. Shares fell 3.6% to $79.27 Thursday after rising the previous day ahead of the announcement. The Platinum card is invite-only and offers travel, dining, and wellness perks. Robinhood aims to attract wealthier clients and reduce reliance on trading revenue.
5 March 2026
Booking Holdings (BKNG) stock jumps as OpenAI cools ChatGPT checkout plans

Booking Holdings (BKNG) stock jumps as OpenAI cools ChatGPT checkout plans

Booking Holdings shares surged as much as 11% in early New York trading Thursday after reports that OpenAI is scaling back plans for in-chat checkout in ChatGPT. Mizuho named Booking its top travel stock pick, citing reduced fears of AI-driven disruption. Travel firms continue to face flight disruptions and rising fuel costs linked to the Middle East conflict. Booking was last up about 7% at $4,553.58.
Netflix bets on ‘One Piece’ again as investors watch the next subscriber test

Netflix bets on ‘One Piece’ again as investors watch the next subscriber test

Netflix’s live-action “One Piece” returns for season two on Tuesday, with season three already in production. J.P. Morgan upgraded Netflix’s stock this week, citing strong content and growth from its ad tier. TV producers in Europe are merging to gain leverage as streamers tighten control. Netflix ended last quarter with over 325 million paid subscribers and projects 2026 revenue up to $51.7 billion.
5 March 2026
AMD teams up with University of Toronto for 100-project AI research lab in Canada

AMD teams up with University of Toronto for 100-project AI research lab in Canada

AMD and the University of Toronto opened a joint AI and computing research lab, with AMD committing to fund 100 projects over three years and donating two AI servers. The lab will focus on energy-efficient AI systems and methods for training large models on distributed clusters. Federal and provincial officials attended the launch. AMD shares fell about 1% in morning trading.
Sandisk stock whipsaws as oil spike and Iran conflict rattle the AI memory trade

Sandisk stock whipsaws as oil spike and Iran conflict rattle the AI memory trade

Sandisk shares fell 0.6% to $595.67 in early Thursday trading after sharp swings earlier in the week. The moves followed surging oil prices near $84 a barrel as the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran disrupted tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Analysts say further volatility depends on whether the conflict drives inflation and slows tech spending.
Micron’s new 256GB SOCAMM2 memory targets AI server power limits — Nvidia weighs in

Micron’s new 256GB SOCAMM2 memory targets AI server power limits — Nvidia weighs in

Micron has begun shipping samples of a 256GB SOCAMM2 low-power server memory module for AI data centers, which can scale to 2TB per CPU and uses less power than standard DDR5 modules. The company said the module is built on LPDDR5X and occupies less space, with internal tests showing faster response times for large language models. Micron shares were little changed in early U.S. trading.
Amazon’s AWS rolls out Amazon Connect Health — AI agents target clinic calls, notes and codes

Amazon’s AWS rolls out Amazon Connect Health — AI agents target clinic calls, notes and codes

Amazon Web Services launched Amazon Connect Health, an AI platform that automates patient verification, scheduling, clinical notes, and medical coding by connecting directly to electronic health records. The tool is designed to transfer complex cases to staff. Amazon shares rose about 1% in early U.S. trading Thursday. UC San Diego Health reported saving about a minute per call using the system.
Tesla’s UK Sales Slide 37% as BYD Surges — a Fresh Headache for Elon Musk

Tesla’s UK Sales Slide 37% as BYD Surges — a Fresh Headache for Elon Musk

Tesla’s UK registrations dropped 37% in February, while BYD’s rose 83% to 2,154, according to SMMT. Tesla’s market share slipped to 2.69% as the overall UK market grew 7.2%. An EU filing showed Stellantis, Toyota, and Subaru are not in Tesla’s planned 2026 CO2 compliance pool. At Tesla’s Berlin plant, IG Metall won 13 of 37 works council seats, short of a majority.
AMD teams up with University of Toronto on new AI research lab as chip race heats up

AMD teams up with University of Toronto on new AI research lab as chip race heats up

AMD and the University of Toronto opened a new AI and computing research lab, planning to support 100 projects over three years and add new AI servers. AMD shares rose nearly 6% in premarket trading as investors watched its AI chip efforts. The lab joins AMD’s R&D network, which includes MIT and UC Berkeley. Executives also reported recent share sales linked to equity awards.
5 March 2026
Qatar outage puts Venture Global LNG cargoes in focus — but spare capacity is thin

Qatar outage puts Venture Global LNG cargoes in focus — but spare capacity is thin

Venture Global is redirecting spot LNG cargoes after Qatar halted shipments, tightening global supply. U.S. and Australian LNG plants are near full capacity, limiting replacement options. LNG prices and shipping rates have surged, with Asian spot prices up 68% for April. Venture Global supplied over half of U.S. LNG cargoes to the Middle East last year, according to Poten & Partners.
5 March 2026
California antitrust probe throws fresh doubt on Paramount’s $110 billion Warner Bros Discovery deal

California antitrust probe throws fresh doubt on Paramount’s $110 billion Warner Bros Discovery deal

California Attorney General Rob Bonta confirmed an open investigation into Paramount Skydance’s planned $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount agreed to pay $31 per share in cash, with a ticking fee if the deal closes after Sept. 30, 2026. Fitch downgraded Paramount’s credit rating to junk, citing leverage risks. Warner Bros. Discovery shares fell about 1% to $27.95 in early trading.

Stock Market Today

  • ChatGPT Predicts XRP Price Range for 2027 Amid Evolving Market and Regulatory Factors
    May 17, 2026, 6:18 PM EDT. ChatGPT forecasted XRP's price between $2.50 and $10 by 2027, based on market, regulatory, and adoption factors. The base case assumes a steady Bitcoin (BTC) uptrend and gradual XRP adoption, projecting $4.00 to $6.50. A bullish scenario with strong BTC cycles and institutional inflows could push XRP to $6.50-$10. Conversely, bear conditions marked by reduced liquidity and crypto interest might pull prices down to $2.50-$4. XRP's role in cross-border payments and improved U.S. regulatory clarity, including live spot XRP ETFs, are pivotal factors attracting institutional capital and enhancing liquidity going forward.

Latest articles

Exxon to Be Watched Monday After Oil Rally and Court Ruling

Exxon to Be Watched Monday After Oil Rally and Court Ruling

18 May 2026
Exxon Mobil closed Friday at $157.92, up 3.4%, after a surge in crude prices lifted energy stocks. Brent crude settled at $109.26 a barrel and WTI at $105.42, both jumping on concerns over shipping near the Strait of Hormuz. A Texas jury found Exxon not liable in a long-running investor lawsuit. Trading resumes Monday; U.S. markets are closed for the weekend.
IonQ’s Volatile Week Leaves Bulls Focused on Monday Trade

IonQ’s Volatile Week Leaves Bulls Focused on Monday Trade

18 May 2026
IonQ shares closed Friday at $51.95, down 9.6% for the day but up 5.5% from the prior week. The company reported first-quarter revenue of $64.7 million, up 755% year-over-year, and raised full-year guidance to as much as $270 million. IonQ posted a GAAP net income of $805.4 million but an adjusted EBITDA loss of $96.8 million. Investor focus remains on high spending and cash burn.
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