Hello, this is Anniek Bao writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of CNBC's Daily Open.
In Samuel Beckett's tragicomedy, two men wait beside a barren tree for someone called Godot who never arrives. With the midterms nearing, Americans are waiting for a sustained drop in fuel prices that remains out of sight.
U.S. President Donald Trump has promised not to attack Iran until voters have had their say. That's supposed to ease energy prices, but speculators on prediction market platform Kalshi aren't convinced, placing more than 80% odds that gas will remain above $4 per gallon on Election Day next month.
Worries also arose in the AI trade. OpenAI told investors it reached about $50 billion in annualized revenue, not the $68 billion widely reported last month — dragging other heavyweight tech stocks down with it.
Trump said Thursday the U.S. will not attack Iran before the Midterm Elections, adding that the two sides were having "productive discussions."