Top stories of the morning: US and Iran to extend ceasefire, EU to take on chips, Gap collapses 14%

The U.S. and Iran have tentatively agreed to extend the truce for another 60 days and continue talks on the nuclear program, a source told Bloomberg. This led to a decline in Brent crude oil prices. Snowflake shares soared 36% after strong reporting and optimistic outlook for its AI business. And LG Electronics shares jumped almost 30% thanks to new car solutions based on Google technologies. These and other topics - in the review of key events in the morning of Ma 29.

The US and Iran have tentatively agreed to extend the current truce for 60 days and continue talks on Iran's nuclear program, Bloomberg writes, citing an unnamed source.

However, the agreement still requires the approval of Donald Trump, and the parties continue to agree on separate formulations, including issues related to Tehran's nuclear capabilities, the agency says. Against this background, Brent crude oil cheapened by more than 1% to $92.6 per barrel.

The EU is preparing a law that will allow Brussels to interfere in semiconductor supply chains during a shortage: demand data on capacity from manufacturers, fine companies up to €300,000 and even force chipmakers to prioritize critical orders, ignoring existing contracts, according to the Financial Times. The EU will also be able to centrally purchase chips for the bloc's countries, similar to the purchase of vaccines during a pandemic.

The measures are linked to fears that semiconductors could become an instrument of economic pressure amid the US-China standoff. The EU produces less than 10% of the world's chips and is almost entirely dependent on Asia and the US for supplies of advanced technologies, while more than 90% of the most advanced chips are produced in Taiwan, a possible conflict over which threatens a global shortage of electronics, cars and equipment.

Blue Origin's New Glenn heavy rocket exploded during a firing test at a launch pad in Florida, CNBC reports. According to company founder Jeff Bezos, no one was injured, and the causes of the incident are still being investigated. The company said it will repair the damaged infrastructure and continue its launch program.

The accident occurred a day after NASA announced a new $188 million contract with Blue Origin to support the Artemis lunar program and build a base on the moon. NASA chief Jared Isaacman said heavy rocket development remains extremely challenging, and the agency will work with the company to assess the incident's impact on future missions. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also reacted to the explosion, succinctly noting, "Rockets are hard."

LG Electronics shares jumped nearly 30% after the company unveiled new automotive solutions based on Google's technology, CNBC writes. The new system uses Android Automotive OS and allows controlling multiple displays of different formats through a single chip, which helps automakers reduce the cost of equipping cars with digital screens.

Investors are positive about the outlook for the automotive software trend. Future Market Insights estimates that the global Android Automotive OS market will grow from $895.6 million in 2025 to $2.14 billion by 2035. On the back of the news, LG Electronics shares hit 279,500 won, posting the highest intraday rise by nearly a quarter.

Snowflake shares rose more than 36%, posting the best performance in the company's history, following strong reporting and the announcement of plans to spend $6 billion on Amazon's computing power, CNBC reports. The company beat analysts' revenue and profit expectations, raised forecasts and said demand for Snowflake Intelligence and Cortex Code AI products is significantly accelerating business growth.

Snowflake's reporting eased investor fears that generative AI would displace traditional SaaS services. The company's customer base grew 38% year-over-year, and the number of customers with spending over $1 million reached 779. An additional signal of confidence was the purchase of AI startup Natoma. Against the backdrop of the report, the market saw signs that Snowflake's AI monetization is entering a new stage of growth.

Shares of Gap fell more than 14% after the company worsened its revenue forecast for the year, writes CNBC. The reason was the weak results of Old Navy - the largest brand of the group, which accounts for about 60% of sales. The chain's comparable sales grew only 1% versus the 3% expected by analysts, and demand for dresses and swimwear was lower than expected.

Despite this, Gap beat earnings forecasts and raised its full-year EPS guidance to $2.30-2.40. Sales of Gap's flagship brand grew 10%, while Banana Republic showed moderate growth and Athleta continued to lose customers. The company's management believes that the problem is not related to consumer demand, but to the unsuccessful assortment of Old Navy's seasonal collections.

- Japan's broad Topix index was up nearly 2 percent, while the Nikkei 225 was up 2.5 percent.

- Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.9 percent, while mainland China's CSI 300 Index was up 0.7 percent.

- In South Korea, the Kospi index rose 3.2 percent, while the Kosdaq fell 2.8 percent.

- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.5 percent.

- Futures on the S&P 500, the Nasdaq Composite and exchange-traded contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed after the indexes ended trading at records on Ma. 28.

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