{"id":61688,"date":"2026-05-07T13:38:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T17:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-oil-reclaims-100-amid-hormuz-tensions-as-softbank-eyes-nvidia-ai-partnership\/61688\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T13:38:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T17:38:25","slug":"global-markets-oil-reclaims-100-amid-hormuz-tensions-as-softbank-eyes-nvidia-ai-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-oil-reclaims-100-amid-hormuz-tensions-as-softbank-eyes-nvidia-ai-partnership\/61688\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Markets: Oil Reclaims $100 Amid Hormuz Tensions as SoftBank Eyes Nvidia AI Partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Brent Crude surged back above $100 per barrel<\/strong> after reports that Iran rejected a U.S.-led proposal to reopen the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>, a critical chokepoint for 20% of global oil supply.<\/li>\n<li><strong>SoftBank (<a href=\"\/stock\/SFTBY\">SFTBY<\/a>)<\/strong> has entered negotiations with <strong>Nvidia (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>)<\/strong> and <strong>Foxconn (<a href=\"\/stock\/HNHPF\">HNHPF<\/a>)<\/strong> to develop and produce &quot;Made-in-Japan&quot; AI servers to bolster domestic computing power.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sherritt International (<a href=\"\/stock\/SHERF\">SHERF<\/a>)<\/strong> shares plummeted nearly <strong>20%<\/strong> after the company announced a total suspension of its Cuban operations due to fears of secondary sanctions from the <strong>Trump administration<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>OpenAI<\/strong> launched <strong>GPT-Realtime-2<\/strong>, a new suite of voice intelligence models featuring <strong>GPT-5-level reasoning<\/strong> and a expanded <strong>128k token context window<\/strong> for API developers.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Federal Reserve<\/strong> official Mary Daly signaled a &quot;steady hand&quot; approach, stating that current <strong>wage growth remains aligned<\/strong> with the 2% inflation target despite rising energy costs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Energy Markets and Geopolitical Volatility<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Brent Crude<\/strong> futures reclaimed the <strong>$100 per barrel<\/strong> threshold on Thursday, reversing earlier session losses. The rebound followed a <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em> report indicating that <strong>Iran<\/strong> has dismissed a U.S. proposal for the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> as &quot;unrealistic,&quot; dampening hopes for an immediate end to the ten-week maritime blockade.<\/p>\n<p>In response to the escalating crisis, representatives from <strong>Saudi Arabia<\/strong> and <strong>Kuwait<\/strong> at the United Nations have called for an urgent joint resolution. The proposed measure seeks to categorize safe passage through the strait as a <strong>humanitarian imperative<\/strong>, as the effective closure continues to threaten global economic stability and drive U.S. gasoline prices toward <strong>$4.50 a gallon<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>AI Infrastructure and Technological Innovation<\/h2>\n<p><strong>SoftBank (<a href=\"\/stock\/SFTBY\">SFTBY<\/a>)<\/strong> is reportedly in advanced talks with <strong>Nvidia (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>)<\/strong> and <strong>Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn) (<a href=\"\/stock\/HNHPF\">HNHPF<\/a>)<\/strong> to establish a domestic AI server manufacturing initiative in Japan. According to the <em>Nikkei<\/em>, the partnership aims to design and assemble high-end AI components locally by the end of the decade to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains.<\/p>\n<p>Simultaneously, <strong>OpenAI<\/strong> has significantly upgraded its developer offering with the release of <strong>GPT-Realtime-2<\/strong>. The new models bring <strong>GPT-5-level reasoning<\/strong> to speech-to-speech applications, offering quadrupled context windows and specialized capabilities for <strong>live translation<\/strong> and <strong>streaming transcription<\/strong>. This move is expected to intensify competition among voice AI startups and enterprise agent providers.<\/p>\n<h2>Corporate Fallout and Sanctions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Sherritt International (<a href=\"\/stock\/SHERF\">SHERF<\/a>)<\/strong> announced it is pulling out of its long-standing joint ventures in <strong>Cuba<\/strong>, effective immediately. The decision follows a May 1 Executive Order from the <strong>Trump administration<\/strong> that introduces secondary sanctions against foreign entities doing business on the island.<\/p>\n<p>The exit marks a severe blow to the Cuban economy, as <strong>Sherritt<\/strong> was responsible for approximately <strong>10% to 15%<\/strong> of the nation&#39;s electricity generation. Three members of the company\u2019s board, including the independent chair, resigned alongside the announcement. <em>Market analysts noted that the mere threat of designation under the new sanctions was enough to make the company&#39;s Cuban interests unoperable.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Central Bank Outlook<\/h2>\n<p>In the United States, <strong>San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly<\/strong> emphasized the importance of maintaining price stability without &quot;hasty action.&quot; Daly noted that <strong>wage increases<\/strong> are currently consistent with the Fed&#39;s <strong>2% inflation target<\/strong> and that long-term inflation expectations remain well-anchored despite the &quot;deluge of shocks&quot; from the Middle East conflict.<\/p>\n<p>Conversely, <strong>ECB Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel<\/strong> warned that European manufacturing firms are increasingly planning to raise prices. Schnabel stated that if the <strong>energy price shock<\/strong> broadens, the <strong>European Central Bank<\/strong> may be forced to tighten monetary policy further. <em>The divergent tones between the Fed and ECB come as the USD\/JPY rose to a session peak of 156.65, reflecting ongoing currency market sensitivity to interest rate differentials.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Brent Crude surged back above $100 per barrel after reports that Iran rejected a U.S.-led proposal to reopen 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