WS #13938
The dominant narrative remains Middle East tensions and the Strait of Hormuz blockade, with no de-escalation signals. Iran denies any ceasefire extension, stating the agreement never entered implementation, while Trump asserts total US control over the strait, calling the blockade a 'wall of steel.' Hormuz traffic fell to a one-week low of eight vessels on Tuesday, and US and Houthi attacks on ships continue. The July CPI came in at 3.4% YoY, in line with expectations, reducing the probability of a Fed rate hike in September to 42%, which supported equities and pressured Treasury yields. AI infrastructure remains a strong theme: CoreWeave, Nebius, and Super Micro surged on blowout earnings, with CoreWeave raising revenue guidance and Super Micro targeting $72B in FY27 revenue. Lumentum's strong earnings lifted optical networking peers (Coherent, Ciena). Nvidia's RTX Pro 6000 price hike to $16,000 signals memory/GPU supply tightness. The Lakers sale to Kushner and Iger for $12.5B is a notable non-market event. The oil spill off Oman is an environmental disaster but has limited direct market impact. Overall, the market is cautiously optimistic on AI and tame inflation, but geopolitical risks persist.
Topics
Key developments
- Iran denies ceasefire extension, says agreement never entered implementation phase
- Hormuz traffic sinks to one-week low as ships attacked, talks stagnate
- CoreWeave raises 2026 revenue outlook to $12.4B-$13.2B, plans up to $39B AI investment
- Supermicro targets $72B FY27 revenue, expands AI server capacity to 6,000 racks/month
- Lumentum rockets 15% on blowout earnings, lifting optical networking peers
- Nvidia doubles RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell MSRP to $16,000, signaling memory/GPU supply tightness
- July CPI at 3.4% YoY, in line with expectations, reduces September rate hike odds to 42%
- Lakers sold to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for record $12.5 billion