AI is in focus this week with NVDA earnings on deck, plus we will see a relaunch of sell-side industry conferences. As of 7:30am, S&P futures are up 0.1% and poised to open near record highs on Monday, while Nasdaq futures gained 0.2% as investors looked past the inflation implications of a commodity rally and wagered interest-rate cuts will remain on the cards this year.

Bond yields are down 1-3bps and USD starts the week flat. Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday, renewing the debate over who will succeed 85-year old supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Oil fluctuated as the market watched for any fallout from political ructions in one of the world's major crude producers. Elsewhere in commodities, ags are higher and metals are soaring, while energy - despite the death of Iran's president - is weaker ex-natgas as the Biden oil trading desk sits on the sell button; precious metals, sugar, and wheat are the standout performers all up at least 1.2%. Copper and Nickel also sharply higher after while gold and copper surged to record highs.

With Bloomberg's commodity index up almost 5% this month, there are fears of a fresh inflation uptick that could take the shine off equities and bonds. Many investors remain confident, however, that price pressures will continue to ease, allowing  the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and others to cut rates in the coming months. The macro data focus this relatively quiet week will be on the FOMC Minutes (Weds), Flash PMIs (Thurs), and Durable Goods/Consumer Sentiment (Fri). We also have 16 Fed speakers this week.