U.S.-Iran strikes, Snowflake soars, Robinhood’s new AI tools and more in Morning Squawk

Happy Thursday. If you’re attending CNBC Pro Live tonight at the Nasdaq MarketSite, look out for me at the cocktail hour.

Stock futures are lower this morning after all three major averages eked out gains yesterday.

Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

Crude oil prices are higher this morning after Iran said it targeted an American air base following new U.S. strikes on Tehran. The jump in prices comes after oil dropped more than 5% yesterday.

Here’s the latest:

• Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the U.S. wants to give diplomacy “every chance to succeed,” but warned that the White House has alternative options if peace talks don’t pan out.
• Iranian state media reported earlier in the day that Tehran aimed to ramp up commercial traffic in the Strait of Hormuz back to pre-war levels within a month of a deal, according to Reuters.
• But the White House called that report a “complete fabrication.”
• Prediction market traders also aren’t confident in the normalization of traffic in the strait before July.
• Yesterday’s slide in oil prices helped propel the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record-high close.
• April’s personal consumption expenditure index due out this morning will offer the latest insight into how the war is impacting inflation.
• Follow live market updates here.

Snowflake reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter Wednesday, also announcing a $6 billion spending commitment to Amazon Web Services. Shares of the company soared more than 37% in extended trading, putting the stock on track for its best day ever.

As CNBC’s Jordan Novet and Katie Tarasov report, the deal includes the purchase of Amazon’s custom silicon and chips for artificial intelligence. Snowflake also said it is acquiring AI startup Natoma.

Elsewhere in tech: Salesforce beat Wall Street’s first-quarter estimates on both lines, but the software company’s full-year outlook came up sightly short of forecasts.

JPMorgan Chase could be going into M&A mode. CEO Jamie Dimon said yesterday that the bank could spend as much as $20 billion on an acquisition in the next couple of years, telling a conference in New York that the bank is “on the lookout” for opportunities.

As CNBC’s Hugh Son notes, a deal of that size would be the largest of Dimon’s two-decade tenure at JPMorgan’s helm.

But Dimon also characterized acquisitions as a last-resort mechanism, rather than a growth strategy. When bankers focus too much on dealmaking, he said, it can be a way to hide lackluster organic expansion.

Your wallet and investing portfolio could soon be managed by AI. Robinhood unveiled tools yesterday that will allow AI agents to trade stocks and conduct purchases.

Users will be able to instruct their agents to rebalance portfolios, monitor investing themes and execute trading strategies. They’ll also be able to have agents deal hunt and make purchases using virtual credit cards.

As CNBC’s Yun Li reports, Robinhood’s new products represent one of the first attempts to put AI finance tools in the hands of regular investors, rather than institutions.

Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann is feeling vindicated as Ferrari receives backlash for its new all-electric vehicle.

Winkelmann told CNBC’s Michael Wayland yesterday that his company’s decision to cancel its all-electric cars to focus on hybrid vehicles was “the right way to go.” Ferrari’s stock sold off earlier this week after it unveiled its first-ever entirely electric model.

The chief executive said that every brand “has to decide for themselves” and that “everybody has their own strategy.” But Winkelmann said the acceptance of EVs among Lamborghini’s customer base hasn’t been increasing.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said at a conference yesterday that the plane maker has met the Federal Aviation Administration’s requirements to increase monthly production of its 737 Max aircrafts. Here are the numbers to know:

• Current rate of jets per month: 42
• Approved rate: 47
• Goal rate: 63

— CNBC’s Lee Ying Shan, Lim Hui Jie, Spencer Kimball, Lisa Han, Sean Conlon, Davis Giangiulio, Gabrielle Fonrouge, Jordan Novet, Katie Tarasov, Hugh Son, Yun Li, Michael Wayland and Laya Neelakandan contributed to this report.

CNBC’s Josephine Rozzelle edited this edition.