Evening digest: IEA taps reserves, Musk's AI push, Bitcoin struggles

Uncertainty continued to linger in the global markets on Wednesday as the US-Israel-Iran conflict entered its 12th day.

The International Energy Agency said it would release 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves as the Iran war disrupts energy flows.

In technology, Elon Musk introduced “Macrohard,” a Tesla-xAI project aimed at automating software tasks, while Oracle’s strong earnings lifted AI stocks.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin struggled to regain momentum as it repeatedly rejected near the $72,000 level.

IEA unleashes 400 million barrels of oil

The International Energy Agency on Wednesday announced that it will release 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves as the Iran war continues to rattle energy markets.

The move follows consultations with G7 governments, which asked the agency to assess whether emergency stocks should be used to steady supplies.

IEA members hold about 1.2 billion barrels in public reserves, with another 600 million barrels in industry inventories that can be tapped in a crisis.

However, the oil prices didn't react much to the news and even surged 3% as the uncertainty around the conflict continued.

Musk unveils “Macrohard” AI project

Elon Musk on Wednesday unveiled “Macrohard,” a joint Tesla-xAI project that he says could replicate much of what software companies do.

The system pairs xAI’s Grok model, which acts as a high-level navigator, with a Tesla-built agent that reads screen video and responds to keyboard and mouse inputs in real time.

Musk said the software could emulate the function of entire companies, framing it as a potential challenge to traditional business software.

Macrohard will run on Tesla’s AI4 chip alongside Nvidia-based server hardware used by xAI, which Musk described as cost-competitive.

Oracle's skyrocketing surge after Q3 results

Oracle shares jumped after the software giant reported fiscal third-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates and lifted its outlook.

Revenue rose 22% from a year earlier, while adjusted earnings came in at $1.79 a share, ahead of the $1.70 analysts had expected.

Net income climbed to about $3.7 billion, and Oracle said cloud revenue grew 44%, underscoring how AI workloads are reshaping its business.

Investors cheered the report, sending the stock sharply higher and lifting the overall momentum among AI-related stocks.

Bitcoin's most challenging phase

Bitcoin is running into its toughest stretch in weeks as repeated rejections near $71,500 to $72,000 keep bulls from regaining momentum.

The latest rally briefly pushed above $73,000, but the move faded quickly and sent the token back below the key resistance zone.

Analysts say the bigger problem is not one failed breakout, but a pattern of repeated attempts that keep losing force and form lower highs.

That shift is changing trader behavior, with short sellers leaning against the ceiling while long positions tighten risk around the same level.