{"id":62087,"date":"2026-05-18T21:38:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T01:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-rally-as-trump-delays-iran-strike-blackstone-and-google-unveil-5-billion-ai-cloud-venture\/62087\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T21:38:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T01:38:28","slug":"global-markets-rally-as-trump-delays-iran-strike-blackstone-and-google-unveil-5-billion-ai-cloud-venture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-rally-as-trump-delays-iran-strike-blackstone-and-google-unveil-5-billion-ai-cloud-venture\/62087\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Markets Rally as Trump Delays Iran Strike; Blackstone and Google Unveil $5 Billion AI Cloud Venture"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Oil prices retreated sharply, with Brent crude falling 2.7% to approximately $109 a barrel<\/strong>, after President Trump delayed a planned military strike on Iran to allow for &quot;serious negotiations.&quot;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Blackstone (<a href=\"\/stock\/BX\">BX<\/a>) and Google (<a href=\"\/stock\/GOOGL\">GOOGL<\/a>) announced a landmark $5 billion joint venture<\/strong> to build a next-generation TPU cloud service, aiming to bring 500 MW of AI compute capacity online by 2027.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Xi Jinping reportedly warned Donald Trump that Vladimir Putin might &quot;regret&quot; the invasion of Ukraine<\/strong>, signaling a potential shift in Beijing&#39;s private rhetoric regarding the ongoing conflict.<\/li>\n<li><strong>New Zealand\u2019s government unveiled a massive public service overhaul<\/strong> aimed at cutting the state workforce by 10,000 roles by mid-2029 to save NZ$2.4 billion.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Asian equities gained momentum<\/strong>, with Japan\u2019s Nikkei rising 1% and the USD\/JPY pair crossing the 159 level as risk sentiment stabilized globally.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Geopolitical De-escalation and the Iran Standoff<\/h2>\n<p>Global energy markets saw a significant reprieve on Tuesday after <strong>U.S. President Donald Trump<\/strong> announced he would &quot;hold off&quot; on a scheduled military strike against Iran. The decision followed direct appeals from Gulf allies, including <strong>Saudi Arabia<\/strong>, <strong>Qatar<\/strong>, and the <strong>UAE<\/strong>, who indicated that diplomatic breakthroughs might be within reach. <em>Traders reacted by selling off crude futures<\/em>, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) falling 1.2% to $107.33, easing fears of a total closure of the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In a separate geopolitical development, reports from the <em>Financial Times<\/em> suggest that <strong>Chinese President Xi Jinping<\/strong> told Trump during recent talks that the Kremlin may eventually regret its invasion of Ukraine. This private admission comes as <strong>Ukraine&#39;s President Zelenskyy<\/strong> continues to urge the U.S. to leverage its relationship with China to end the war. <em>The comments highlight a complex diplomatic dance<\/em> as Trump balances trade negotiations with Beijing against the escalating conflict in Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n<h2>Corporate Strategy: The Blackstone-Google AI Bet<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Blackstone (<a href=\"\/stock\/BX\">BX<\/a>)<\/strong> and <strong>Google (<a href=\"\/stock\/GOOGL\">GOOGL<\/a>)<\/strong> have entered a strategic joint venture to create a new U.S.-based &quot;compute-as-a-service&quot; provider. The partnership will be fueled by an initial <strong>$5 billion equity investment<\/strong> from Blackstone-managed funds, focusing on deploying Google\u2019s custom <strong>Tensor Processing Units (TPUs)<\/strong>. The venture intends to operate 500 MW of capacity by 2027, positioning itself as a direct competitor to traditional GPU-based cloud providers.<\/p>\n<p>The new entity will be led by <strong>Benjamin Treynor Sloss<\/strong>, a long-time Google executive, and will leverage Blackstone\u2019s extensive portfolio of digital infrastructure. <em>Analysts view this as a major move to commoditize AI compute<\/em>, potentially undercutting current market prices for high-performance training and inference. <strong>Samsung Electronics (<a href=\"\/stock\/005930\">005930<\/a>)<\/strong> also saw positive corporate news as reports indicated a narrowing of differences in ongoing labor negotiations with its South Korean union.<\/p>\n<h2>Regional Economic Shifts and Market Sentiment<\/h2>\n<p><strong>New Zealand Finance Minister Nicola Willis<\/strong> announced a sweeping plan to reduce the country\u2019s public workforce from 65,000 to 55,000 by 2029. The overhaul is designed to restore the public service to its &quot;historic norm&quot; of 1% of the population while redirecting <strong>NZ$2.4 billion<\/strong> in savings toward infrastructure and healthcare. <em>The move reflects a broader global trend<\/em> of fiscal tightening as governments look to curb post-pandemic spending.<\/p>\n<p>In Australia, consumer sentiment showed signs of life as the <strong>Westpac Consumer Confidence Index<\/strong> rose 3.5% to 83.0 in May. The improvement was largely attributed to easing fuel prices and a stabilizing outlook on household finances. Meanwhile, <strong>Prime Minister Anthony Albanese<\/strong> confirmed that Australia has secured three major jet fuel shipments from China, totaling over <strong>600,000 barrels<\/strong>, to shore up domestic energy security through early June.<\/p>\n<h2>Health and Transport Disruptions<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>U.S. government<\/strong> has initiated Ebola screening at major airports following reports of an infected American in the <strong>Democratic Republic of Congo<\/strong>. This move coincides with the <strong>World Health Organization (WHO)<\/strong> investigating potential human-to-human transmission on a virus-hit cruise ship currently docked in Spain. <em>Public health officials remain on high alert<\/em> as international travel continues to face sporadic disruptions from emerging infectious threats.<\/p>\n<p>Domestic transport in the U.S. saw a major resolution as negotiators reached a deal to end the strike on the <strong>Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)<\/strong>. The agreement prevents further chaos for the nation&#39;s busiest commuter rail system. However, in Japan, <strong>Nagano-to-Tokyo Shinkansen<\/strong> bullet trains were suspended on Tuesday due to a widespread power outage, highlighting ongoing vulnerabilities in aging infrastructure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Oil prices retreated sharply, with Brent crude falling 2.7% to approximately $109 a barrel, after President Trump delayed 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