Wheat futures were broadly higher by midday, with MPLS spring wheat leading gains by 7–8 cents. USDA data showed spring wheat rated 53% good/excellent, down 5 percentage points from the prior week, with notable downgrades across key producing states including Idaho and Montana. Sovecon cut its estimate for the Russian wheat crop to 88.3 MMT, down 0.6 MMT from its previous figure. The tighter supply outlook helped lift contracts across CBOT, KCBT and MIAX.

A breakdown in the temporary U.S.-Iran ceasefire has again shut the Strait of Hormuz, while Yemen’s Houthi rebels have ended a four-year informal truce with Saudi Arabia and declared a blockade that could close the Bab El-Mandab Strait. Russia has also suspended diesel exports, which account for some 12% of the global market. The combined supply disruptions pushed diesel prices up P10–P12 per liter in a week, and oil is likely to stay above $80 per barrel for the next two or three quarters. The shock is expected to intensify pressure on global inflation and weigh on GDP.

By July 2026, the number of AI agents registered onchain surged from 337 in January to more than 330,000. Roughly 60% are deployed on BNB Chain, a larger share than all other blockchain networks combined. The figures suggest BNB Chain has become a key infrastructure platform for developing and deploying onchain AI agents. BNB, the chain’s native token, is seeing rising network usage intensity, gas consumption and ecosystem incentive demand, providing tangible support for its fundamentals.

U.S. stocks rose, led by the Nasdaq 100 up 1.58%, as chipmakers and AI-infrastructure shares rebounded sharply, with SOXX up more than 4% and several semiconductor names gaining over 5% on the session. Alphabet and Tesla are set to report earnings on Wednesday, prompting positioning in AI-related assets. Software shares lagged after Morgan Stanley downgraded several companies. WTI crude climbed more than 2% to a five-week high as Middle East tensions intensified, with the U.S. and Iran exchanging strikes for a 10th straight day and Houthi threats to Red Sea shipping.

IBM shares have fallen for five straight sessions, dropping a combined 26% after the company’s latest earnings report showed sales below expectations. The company-specific setback has prompted investors to reassess the execution of IBM’s hybrid cloud and AI strategy. The impact has been concentrated in IBM stock, with no mention of broader assets, indices, commodities, or macro factors.

The article says gold has fallen more than 25% and slipped below $4,000 an ounce despite persistent inflation. It attributes the decline to the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance lifting real interest rates and to a stronger dollar index that weighs on overseas demand, pushing gold ETFs into sizable outflows. Silver has dropped alongside gold, while the gold miners ETF GDX has lagged further. The piece references several related tickers, including GCQ26, GLD, GDX, GLL, DUST, CLQ26 and $DXY.

Nvidia has raised its stake in AI cloud firm Nebius to 9.3% and expanded work with the company on AI infrastructure deployment, inference systems and AI factory design. Nebius shares rose 6%, and the stock is up nearly 250% over the past 12 months, valuing the company at about $46 billion. Nebius has signed a long-term AI infrastructure agreement with Meta worth up to $27 billion and secured $775 million through its first senior secured debt facility. The update extends partnerships the company had previously disclosed rather than marking a sudden new development.