Keep Reading the 'Art of the Deal'

Trump's playbook: crisis, then extracting concessions

Highlights

• Trump's playbook: crisis, then extracting concessions

• AI stocks soar on Saudi deal news flow

• S&P and Nasdaq clear key levels, look stretched

• Deflation shows up in key cyclical service sectors

Key Takeaways

• Saudi Billions Support U.S. Stocks: U.S. futures are little changed, which is actually good news — it means yesterday’s gains are holding. Those gains were fueled by yet another round of headline news: an alleged $1 trillion Saudi investment into the U.S. (suddenly upped from $600 billion, with details as vague as ever), and the President’s expressed willingness to ease restrictions on the export of chips to Gulf countries from leading American suppliers (whatever happened to national security?). That news sent the likes of Palantir, Nvidia, Super Micro Computer, and Vistra — all major AI plays — soaring yesterday.