US President Donald Trump gestures as he poses next to a sign for a family photo at a summit of world leaders on ending the war in Gaza, amid a US-mediated prisoner-hostage swap and ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025.
Suzanne Plunkett | Reuters
This may not be Christmas, but the war in the Middle East is over – at least according to US President Donald Trump.
On Monday, Trump declared in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, that the “long and painful nightmare” was finally over for both Israelis and Palestinians. Put more simply, Trump gave an unequivocal “yes” when reporters asked him whether the war in the Middle East is over, Reuters reported.
A similar hopeful mood permeated the markets, albeit for different reasons. After hitting China with 100% additional tariffs and triggering a sell-off on Friday, Trump appeared to reconsider his stance, posting on Truth Social that “everything will be fine” with China.
And so TACO was back on traders' menu: the major US stock indexes recovered, with technology stocks leading the way. Quantum computing names popped up next JPMorgan Chase announced that it will invest $10 billion in sectors critical to national interests.
Broadcom, meanwhile, rose nearly 10% after jointly announcing a partnership with – who else? — OpenAI to build and deploy custom chips. But where this comes down to NvidiaOpenAI's other near and dear one, and whose chips the ChatGPT maker relies on, remains a question.
Although Christmas is yet to come, OpenAI is starting to resemble the technology sector's Santa Claus, who has his bag full of presents – and, more importantly, cash, according to Oracle.
— CNBC's Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.
What you need to know today
And finally…
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Argentine President Javier Milei during the 80th United Nations General Assembly, in New York City, New York, USA, September 23, 2025.
Alexander Drago | Reuters
The US has stepped in with an extraordinary bailout for Argentina. This is what it means
In a move announced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on social media site
The move comes amid liquidity problems in Argentina that threatened stability for the country as it faces key midterm elections. There are equal economic and political stakes in this venture, which marks the first US intervention of this nature since the rescue of Mexico in 1995.
— Jeff Cox
