WS #12887

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Japan's Kumamoto prefecture, home to TSMC's Kyushu semiconductor hub, triggering tsunami warnings and power outages affecting 40,000 households. The quake is the dominant new signal, with potential to disrupt global chip supply chains and exacerbate the ongoing tech selloff. Separately, South Korea's KOSPI plunged 11% on China chip competition fears, and Asian markets broadly declined. Oil prices eased on hopes of US-Iran diplomatic progress, with Brent falling to $84.11. The Fed begins its two-day meeting today, with markets pricing in a pause. Key developments include the Japan earthquake (bearish for semiconductors, bullish for alternative supply chains), the KOSPI crash (bearish for tech), and oil price decline (bearish for energy, bullish for consumers). The earthquake narrative is ESCALATING with aftershocks and damage reports. The tech selloff narrative is STABLE, with no new contradictory signals. The US-Iran de-escalation narrative is DE-ESCALATING oil risk.