WS #12865

The dominant narrative remains the Middle East energy infrastructure escalation, with multiple sources corroborating Houthi/Iranian drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities (Yanbu) and a new Iranian drone strike on Erbil, Iraq. This is an ESCALATING situation. However, the US-Iran hold-fire enters its third day (Al Jazeera), acting as a counter-signal to the supply disruption thesis. Oil prices are likely under pressure from de-escalation hopes, but the drone attacks continue, creating a tug-of-war. Separately, Apple regained the world's most valuable company title from Nvidia, as Nvidia fell 5% on AI spending concerns. Celestica reported a strong Q2 beat (EPS $2.54 vs $2.31, revenue +62% YoY) and raised guidance, surging ~10% after hours, signaling robust AI/hardware demand. Datadog insiders (CEO and director) sold large blocks of shares, a bearish signal for DDOG. META has declined 8 straight days, its longest losing streak ever, contradicting the broader tech narrative. The US Senate is expected to vote on a Russia sanctions bill as soon as Tuesday. Also notable: Nvidia plans a $250B push to bolster OpenAI's infrastructure (Al Jazeera), a massive capex signal that could reignite AI spending concerns.