Highlights for this morning: Trump's turnaround, Meta boosts AI race, OpenAI names pre-IPO risks

Donald Trump has dramatically reduced tensions over war with Iran. OpenAI, which is preparing for an IPO, warned of the risks of dependence on Microsoft, high infrastructure costs (up to $665 billion for computing) and legal threats, including disputes with Elon Musk and users. Meta has stepped up its bet on AI agents, hiring a team from startup Dreamer and integrating it into its Superintelligence Labs division. About these and other topics - in our review of key events by the morning of March 24.

Donald Trump postponed strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure, giving Tehran five days to negotiate, after warnings from allies and Gulf states about the risk of escalation and possible collapse of Iran, Bloomberg has learned. An additional factor was market pressure: the decision, announced before the opening of trading in the U.S., caused oil prices to fall and stocks and government bonds to rise.

At the same time, the prospects for a deal remain uncertain: Iran denies the fact of negotiations, allies doubt the readiness for an agreement, and hostilities continue. Experts consider the pause more of a tactical move, either to reduce tension or as preparation for a new escalation.

Oil prices in Asia rose after a sharp drop the previous day: Brent rose above $102 per barrel, WTI - to $91, writes CNBC. The growth followed a collapse of almost 11% on Monday, March 23, caused by Donald Trump's words about possible negotiations with Iran and the postponement of strikes on energy infrastructure.

However, risks of supply disruptions remain high amid attacks on energy facilities and restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world's seaborne oil passed before the war. This supports prices despite short-term fluctuations.

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has warned in a document for investors about key risks for the business as it prepares for a possible IPO. The company named the main risk as dependence on Microsoft, which provides a significant part of financing and computing power, CNBC reports. OpenAI has attracted about $110 billion in investment and expects to raise another $10 billion, but recognizes that breaking or weakening the partnership with Microsoft could negatively impact its finances and growth.

That said, the channel notes, OpenAI and Microsoft are now increasingly competing in the generative AI market, and OpenAI is already diversifying its infrastructure to include other cloud providers.

Other threats include huge infrastructure costs (liabilities of up to $665 billion), risks of chip outages and geopolitics, and a series of lawsuits ranging from the Elon Musk controversy to the ChatGPT user cases.

Gold prices continue to fall: the metal has lost more than 22% from its January peak, deepening the correction after a rally, CNBC reports. Spot gold prices first fell 2%, then cut the decline to less than 1% to $4392.65 an ounce. Gold futures for delivery in April were losing more than 1%, falling to $4358.80 an ounce. Pressure is exerted by the strengthening of the dollar and rising yields of U.S. Treasury bonds, reducing the attractiveness of the protective asset.

An additional factor was profit taking and closing of positions: investors sell gold to cover losses and margin requirements. The market is also revising expectations on Fed rates - high inflation keeps yields at an elevated level.

Meta has hired the founders and team of Dreamer, a startup developing AI agents, strengthening its Meta Superintelligence Labs business, Bloomberg writes. The deal provides for the return of funds to Dreamer investors and gives Meta a non-exclusive license to the technology, while Dreamer retains its legal independence, the agency's sources said.

Meta is actively ramping up investment in AI agents, a key area for it: it previously agreed to buy startup Manus for more than $2 billion and to acquire Moltbook. The new team will develop personalized "always-on" agents, which Meta sees as the next stage of mass AI adoption. "Always-on" agents are autonomous systems that run constantly in the background, know the user's context and can perform tasks without direct requests - from helping with coding and scheduling to interacting with services and devices, including wearable electronics.

- Japan's broad Topix index was up 2 percent, while the Nikkei 225 was up 1.3 percent.

- Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 2.2 percent, while mainland China's CSI 300 Index was up 1 percent.

- In South Korea, the Kospi index was up 2.8% and the Kosdaq was up 2.1%.

- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.2 percent.

- S&P 500 futures were down 0.3 percent, Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.3 percent and Dow Jones Industrial Average exchange-traded contracts were down 0.35 percent.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor