WS #13105

The dominant market narrative is a sharp tech rebound driven by blowout earnings from Microsoft and Amazon, with AI infrastructure spending validating the sector. Microsoft surged 15.5% on Azure growth guidance, adding a record $450B in market cap, while Amazon popped 9.5% after hours on AWS strength. This has triggered a global semiconductor rally, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 8.19% and South Korea's Kospi surging 14% in its largest one-day jump. However, Apple's post-earnings drop (down ~6-8% after hours) on supply chain constraints and a 'hundred year flood' in memory chip pricing presents a counter-signal to the tech rally, specifically hitting AAPL and memory-dependent names. Geopolitically, the US-Iran conflict is escalating with fresh strikes, but oil prices are easing as Hormuz traffic recovers to 30-35% of pre-war levels, a counter-signal to the oil supply premium. The BOJ held rates at 1% but warned of inflation exceeding 2%, with yen intervention suspected. A potential Gaza ceasefire breakthrough (Hamas disarmament deal) is emerging but Israel calls terms 'unsatisfactory', creating uncertainty. Tesla's potential China business separation for a SpaceX merger (dismissed by Musk as 'fake news') adds idiosyncratic risk to TSLA.