Good morning.

Intel crushed its Q1 earnings last night and shares are up 27% in premarket. Revenue hit $13.58 billion vs. $12.3 billion expected, AI-related revenue grew 40% year over year. That's pulling Nasdaq futures up 1.2% this Friday morning and giving tech a much-needed lift after Thursday's software-led selloff.

Oil & Energy
But oil is telling a completely different story. Brent jumped to $107.38, WTI to $97.71, both up around 2% as the Strait of Hormuz remains shut and the US and Iran stay deadlocked. Trump told reporters "don't rush me" when asked about a long-term deal, which is exactly what markets didn't want to hear heading into the weekend. The blockade keeps tightening.

Europe
European markets are set to open lower. FTSE futures down 0.8%, CAC off 0.6%, DAX flat. Ceasefire optimism is fading and $107 oil hits European industrials harder than anyone else. The energy squeeze hasn't gone away, it's accelerating.

US Markets
US futures are mixed. S&P 500 futures up 0.3% after Thursday's 0.41% decline to 7,108.40. Dow futures barely moving, down 45 points. Nasdaq is the outlier at +1.2%, entirely on Intel's back. Thursday saw the S&P pull back from its all-time high as software stocks got hit and oil surged past $105.

Asia
In Asia, the Hang Seng dipped 0.16%. China's CSI 300 lost 0.35%. Nikkei held near 59,140 after touching 60,000 earlier this week.

Crypto & Gold
Bitcoin is holding at $78,106, ETH at $2,352, both up about 5-6% over the past five days. Gold slipped to $4,689, pulling back from $4,746 as the dollar caught a bid. Still well below its March highs near $5,000, which fits the wave 4 correction our analysis has been tracking.

FOMC rate decision next Wednesday, April 29. That's the next big macro event on the calendar.

Two stories fighting for control this morning: tech earnings strength vs. oil at $107. We'll see which one wins the day.