WS #10520

The dominant narrative remains the de-escalation of the Iran conflict and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with oil prices declining. Multiple sources (BBC, Bloomberg, Seeking Alpha, Polymarket) confirm that dozens of ships are transiting the strait, and the US has temporarily lifted oil sanctions on Iran. This is a continuation of the previous trend, now with concrete data: 172 vessels have crossed since the deal, though still below pre-conflict averages. The narrative is STABLE and DE-ESCALATING. Separately, a tech selloff is underway, with SpaceX shares slumping and Elon Musk losing billions. However, Apple (AAPL) has reclaimed $300, a potential MAG7 carve-out signal. Other notable items: the EU is considering a new levy on online shoppers, Israel weighs US IPOs for defense companies, and the US Supreme Court ended a lawsuit against Cisco (CSCO) regarding China. The Pentagon is reportedly seeking $80 billion in additional Iran war funding, which could be a counter-signal to the de-escalation narrative, but this is from a single source and not corroborated.