WS #12645

The dominant narrative remains the escalating US-Iran conflict, with new developments reinforcing the bullish case for energy stocks and bearish for consumer/transport sectors. Iran fired drones at US bases in Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait, and the IRGC struck US assets in Kuwait and Bahrain, including an Amazon data center in Bahrain. Iran declared only safe route through Hormuz is Iran-secured, and Germany urged citizens to leave Iran. Trump is considering a 'massive attack' on Iran, and US KC-135 tankers landed in Israel. Oil dipped below $100 on profit-taking but remains elevated. The EU adopted a 21st sanctions package against Russia. Separately, Salesforce won a $1.6B VA contract, AMD's AI event was praised by Wall Street, and Nvidia established an AI lab with KAIST. CATL posted record profits but slightly missed estimates. Berkshire Hathaway completed acquisition of Taylor Morrison. The narrative arc is ESCALATING on the Iran front, with no counter-signals. Key earnings beats include SLB, while Verizon and Hartford Insurance reported mixed results. The Pentagon blacklisted Fudan and Shanghai Jiao Tong universities, escalating US-China tech tensions.