The U.S. strikes Iran, Samsung's Wall Street letdown, using AI for financial planning and more in Morning Squawk
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day.
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Happy Wednesday. This year's FIFA World Cup isn't over yet. But as CNBC's Alex Sherman reports, media companies are already thinking about how to get rights to the next ones.
Stock futures fell sharply this morning after President Donald Trump said the U.S.-Iran ceasefire is "over," reigniting fears of a broader Middle East conflict.
The three major averages recorded losses yesterday.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Eye on oil
A sailor observes the oil tanker HELGA, which is moored at one of Iraq's southern offshore oil terminals near Basra, as it prepares to load crude oil, becoming the second vessel to arrive since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, April 24, 2026.
Mohammed Aty | Reuters
2. Singing in the rain
Close-up of logo for Samsung on research building in the Silicon Valley, Mountain View, California, October 28, 2018.
Smith Collection/gado | Archive Photos | Getty Images
Samsung posted a stronger quarterly profit than Nvidia and Apple and said its operating profit can surge 1,800%. But that didn't appease investors, with the stock dropping 8% in yesterday's session.
As CNBC's Samantha Subin notes, it's the latest example of a company posting big results that still don't meet Wall Street's high bar in the artificial intelligence era. It joins stocks such as Nvidia and CrowdStrike that have fallen due to similar reasons.
Fellow memory stocks, including Sandisk and Micron, tumbled in lockstep. The broader iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) dropped around 5% in the session.
3. Stellantis Little
Stellantis plans to offer the Fiat Topolino, an all-electric quadricycle vehicle, in the U.S.
Stellantis
Stellantis officially opened U.S. orders for its golf cart-like electric vehicle, the Fiat Topolino. Prices for the car — which means "little mouse" in Italian — start at $13,995.
As CNBC's Michael Wayland reports, the Moroccan-made car can go 19 miles per hour, or up to 25 miles per hour with a vehicle conversion kit. While the kit won't have an added charge, buyers will need to pay a mandatory destination fee that adds $990 to the entry price.
Elsewhere in autos: Rivian announced it will sell 75 million shares to raise capital. The electric vehicle maker's stock tumbled 18% in yesterday's session as a result, marking its worst day since 2024.
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4. Worth a thousand words
Samuel Boivin | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Meta released its first AI model that can create images yesterday. As CNBC's Jonathan Vanian reports, the Facebook parent is looking to win attention from creators and advertisers.
Dubbed Muse Image, the product will be available for free through Meta AI's website and app, along with WhatsApp direct messages and Instagram Stories. It's the second big release from Alexandr Wang's Meta Superintelligence Labs, which unveiled Muse Spark in April.
Meta is attempting to monetize outside of its core online advertising business and bring in revenue that can help offset its big AI infrastructure investments. However, OpenAI and Alphabet have beaten Meta in rolling out this type of model focused on image generation.
5. FinAncIal planning
D3sign | Moment | Getty Images
AI may not be a go-to source for personal finance. As CNBC's Greg Iacurci reports, a new study found that the technology offers advice that's inconsistent, inaccurate or contains bias around the subject.
The Journal of Financial Planning study reviewed seven well-known generative AI platforms, including free versions of ChatGPT and Claude. While these platforms may dole out advice that sounds confident, researchers warned that it can be riddled with problems.
In some cases, the authors said that its outputs were considered "suboptimal." They said that can prompt concerns about the consistency or fairness of such advice, even as a majority of Americans who use generative AI have said they utilize it for help on the topic.
The Daily Dividend
Finnish President Alexander Stubb told CNBC yesterday that even though Ukraine needs more air support from NATO members, the country has appeared to win the war against Russia, given its perseverance. Here's what he said during the NATO Summit in Turkey:

— CNBC's Garrett Downs, Megan Cassella, Spencer Kimball, Sean Conlon, Kevin Breuninger, Sam Meredith, Samantha Subin, Michael Wayland, Jonathan Vanian, Greg Iacurci and Elsa Ohlen contributed to this report.
Luke Fountain assisted in the production of this newsletter. Melodie Warner edited this edition.
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