•Major U.S. retailers are facing increasing pressure from rising freight, logistics, and fuel costs, which are growing at the fastest rate in three years.
•Goldman Sachs analysts noted that companies like Walmart, Costco, and AutoZone are currently absorbing costs, but persistence threatens margin deterioration in the second half of the year.
•US stock futures dipped following historic highs for the S&P 500 as conflicting reports emerged regarding diplomatic negotiations between the US and Iran.
•Strong US manufacturing data reinforced confidence in the AI infrastructure boom, led by gains in Nvidia, Dell, and Oracle.
•Concerns persist over market sustainability as consumer savings hit post-financial-crisis lows and market leadership remains concentrated in a few AI stocks.