CNBC Daily Open: Markets caught between oil jitters and AI optimism

Gas prices are displayed at a Valero gas station on July 21, 2026 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell | Getty ImagesHello, this is Hui Jie writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of CNBC's Daily Open.U.S. President Donald Trump has said that Washington was only "semi-negotiating" with Iran, as economic pressure mounts on the country. "We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money." That offers little solace to a world watching oil prices surge past $82 per barrel, while the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve has dipped to its lowest level since 1983. What you need to know todayOil worries are back as hopes for a U.S.-Iran deal that could alleviate the pain caused by energy supply disruption are diminishing.Crude oil stockpiles in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve have fallen below 300 million barrels, the lowest level in more than four decades, as global inventories stay under pressure due to the Iran war.The SPR fell by 6.1 million barrels to 298.7 million barrels last week, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Energy on Monday. The reserve, created in 1975, is at multi-decade lows.President Trump ordered the releas...