WS #13308

The dominant market theme is a sharp de-escalation in US-Iran tensions, with President Trump calling off planned strikes and announcing negotiations, triggering a 5-6% drop in oil prices (WTI below $80, Brent near $83) and a rally in US equity futures (Dow +0.57%, S&P +0.42%, Nasdaq +0.39%). This is corroborated by multiple sources (AP, BBC, GDELT, oilprice.com, marketwatch). However, Iran's Foreign Ministry denies direct talks and says the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, creating a fragile truce. The US-Japan joint yen intervention (first in 15 years) is confirmed, with USD/JPY falling from 163 to near 155, pressuring Japanese equities (Nikkei -0.94%) and boosting Treasuries. In corporate news, several M&A and earnings events stand out: KKR to acquire Integer Holdings for $127/share (51.8% premium), Supernus and Indivior announce a merger of equals, and Alibaba unveils its Qwen3.8-Max AI model (2.4T parameters), lifting its shares 4.5% premarket. Apple continues to slide (down 7.3% Friday) on downgrades and supply concerns, while Tesla faces mixed European sales (Spain -81% in July). Bitcoin remains weak near $62.7K amid the Coldcard hack and ETF outflows. The narrative arc is DE-ESCALATING on geopolitics but with lingering risks, and the AI selloff in Asia (KOSPI -5.6%) suggests tech volatility persists.