WS #12472

The US-Iran conflict has escalated sharply with multiple reports of Iranian ballistic missile strikes on US positions, a Saudi commercial vessel struck in the Strait of Hormuz, and Kuwait under missile/drone attack. This marks a significant escalation from the previous stable narrative. Oil prices are likely to spike further, impacting energy stocks positively and airlines/consumer negatively. Separately, Alphabet (GOOGL) shares popped 3% on reports of a new efficient AI chip 'Frozen v2', a bullish signal ahead of earnings. Hut 8 (HUT) surged 14% on a $9.8B AI data-center lease, lifting the compute sector. IREN also jumped on raised AI Cloud ARR target. The US leading index slipped more than expected (-0.2% vs -0.1% est.), a mild negative for the macro outlook. The India 'Cockroach' protests and UK political transition (Burnham as PM) are notable but have limited direct US market impact.