WS #13034

The US-Iran conflict continues to escalate, with the US launching fresh airstrikes on Iranian targets (explosions reported in Ahvaz, Abadan, Qeshm) after foiling an Iranian missile attack. Trump vowed to hit Iran 'very hard.' Oil prices surged 7%+ on Wednesday (Brent to $90.74, WTI to $84.46) but are giving back some gains in Asian trade (Brent -1.4% to $89.45). The Fed held rates steady (9-3 vote) but the 30-year yield hit 5.2%, steepening the curve and pressuring equities. Microsoft's strong earnings (Azure +43%, revenue $90B, EPS beat) drove after-hours gains of 7%+ for MSFT, providing a bullish counter-signal to the tech selloff. Meta disappointed (EPS miss, weak guidance, FCF collapse to $784M) with stock down 7%+ after-hours. Samsung Electronics reported record Q2 profit (KRW 89.5tn, +1,813% YoY) driven by AI memory demand, but warned of chip supply shortage deepening into 2028 and phone shipments declining in H2. China's Zhongji Innolight fell on HK debut amid global AI selloff. China Commerce Ministry threatened retaliation over US robot ban. The dominant narrative is ESCALATING US-Iran conflict driving oil and risk-off, but Microsoft's earnings and OPEC+ potential supply increase provide partial offsets.