AI Infrastructure Doubts and Middle East Tensions Weigh on Wall Street

Wall Street is bracing for a downward open on Tuesday, with technology stocks expected to lead the decline. S&P 500 futures have dipped 0.7%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures are underperforming with a 1.3% slump, reflecting a sudden shift in sentiment toward the artificial intelligence sector. The volatility is driven by reports that OpenAI has missed internal targets for revenue and new user acquisition. These stumbles have raised concerns among leadership regarding the company's ability to sustain its massive capital expenditures on data center infrastructure. This has had an immediate ripple effect on partners and suppliers. Oracle (ORCL), which maintains a multi-year partnership with OpenAI for infrastructure, has plunged 6.5% in pre-market trading. Other major chipmakers, including Nvidia (NVDA), Broadcom (AVGO), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Qualcomm (QCOM), are also seeing notable weakness as investors re-evaluate the AI growth trajectory. Adding to the pressure is a geopolitical escalation in the Middle East. The Trump administration appears unlikely to accept an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the current conflict, while bypassing discussions on Iran's nuclear program. This friction has sent crude oil futures soaring to $100.08 per barrel. Global markets are mirroring this pessimism, with the Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng indices both slumping 1%, and European markets including the DAX and CAC 40 trading lower. Investors are now looking toward the Conference Board's consumer confidence report, which is expected to drop to 89.4 from March's 91.8.