WS #12539

The US-Iran conflict continues to ESCALATE, with the US carrying out a 10th consecutive night of strikes on Iran, and Tehran claiming two oil tankers were hit and are on fire in the Strait of Hormuz. Kuwait reports several power and water desalination plants were hit during Iranian attacks. Kazakhstan is reportedly stopping oil pipeline shipments to the Black Sea following tanker attacks. The IEA noted member states still hold over 1 billion barrels of emergency oil reserves, and have released ~290 million barrels since March 11. This counters some of the supply disruption fears but the situation remains highly volatile. Separately, Trump has targeted Canada with 50% tariffs, escalating trade war fears. On the positive side, the Clarity Act odds jumped to 43% on Polymarket after reports that Trump agreed to an ethics provision, boosting crypto sentiment. In earnings, Charles Schwab (SCHW) beat estimates with record revenue, 3M (MMM) raised guidance, Northrop Grumman (NOC) beat EPS, and Novartis (NVS) beat. However, Morgan Stanley downgraded Salesforce (CRM), Adobe (ADBE), and others, weighing on tech. Novo Nordisk (NVO) sued Eli Lilly (LLY) over misleading GLP-1 ads, a notable pharma feud. The dominant narrative is the escalating Iran conflict and its impact on oil markets, with some counter-signals from IEA reserve releases and diplomatic moves.