WS #13362

The dominant narrative remains the US-Iran de-escalation, which is now ESCALATING in terms of market impact: Trump's 'last chance' ultimatum and his claim that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen 'by tomorrow' have driven oil prices down sharply (Brent -4.7% to $83.77, WTI -5.1% to $80.34), fueling a record Dow close (+1.32% to 53,178.41) and a tech-led rally (Nasdaq +2.13%). However, Iran has denied talks and threatened US warships, creating a counter-signal that could reverse the risk-on move. Separately, 25 states have sued the Trump administration over new Section 301 tariffs, a legal challenge that could pressure trade-sensitive sectors. In tech, Amazon crossed $3 trillion market cap on strong AWS growth, while Apple faces a UK legal challenge over encryption and a Russian antitrust case, and memory chip shortages are delaying MacBook Air shipments. The AI capex theme remains strong, with Morgan Stanley revising cloud capex estimates to $1.4T.