US stock futures nudged up on Friday after President Trump further delayed promised US strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure, but doubts about the chances of a peace deal muted gains and spurred oil’s rally.
Contracts on the Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) and the S&P 500 (ES=F) rose roughly 0.2%. Meanwhile, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) nudged up 0.1%, following steep losses for Wall Street stocks on Thursday.
Oil prices pushed over 1% higher as attacks continued across the Middle East, raising concerns the war could run into April and beyond. Brent crude (BZ=F) traded above $103 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) neared $96 as investors eyed the growing economic hit from the halt to Strait of Hormuz traffic.
Trump extended his deadline for Iran by 10 days, giving it until April 6 to comply with US demands or face for strikes on its power plants. The move marks a shift in Trump’s tone around the war, showing a potential path toward de-escalation. Still, uncertainty lingers. Reports indicate Iran’s leadership remains reluctant to engage in direct negotiations with Washington, even as it reviews a US proposal.
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Oil falls as Trump delays Iran energy infrastructure attack plans
Bloomberg reports:
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OpenAI’s ad trial shows $100M annualized revenue in six weeks
OpenAI‘s ChatGPT ads pilot in the United States has crossed the $100 million annualized revenue mark within six weeks of launch, a company spokesperson said on Thursday, pointing to robust early demand for the AI startup’s nascent advertising business.
Sam Altman-led OpenAI had said in January that it would start showing ads in ChatGPT to some U.S. users, ramping up efforts to generate revenue from the AI chatbot to fund the high costs of developing the technology. The ads were to be tested with users on the company’s free tier and the lower-priced Go plan.
The ads are separate from the answers generated by ChatGPT and do not influence its outputs. User conversations are not shared with marketers, the company said at the time.
OpenAI has now expanded to over 600 advertisers, with nearly 80% of small- and medium-sized businesses signaling interest in ChatGPT ads, the spokesperson said.
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Netflix increases subscription cost for all US plans
Reuters reports:
Netflix (NFLX) has increased prices on all its plans in the U.S., as the streaming giant pushes into new programming formats such as video podcasts and live sporting events.
The company’s ad-supported tier will now cost $8.99 a month, compared with $7.99 earlier, while prices for its standard plan rose $2 per month to $19.99, according to its website.
Read more here.
