WS #14047

The dominant theme remains Middle East tensions, but the key development in this window is the UAE's accusation that Iran attacked two ADNOC vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, corroborated by Al Jazeera, multiple GDELT sources, and a German-language report. This escalation is partially offset by the IEA's slashed 2026 oil supply forecast and a reported 17.4 million barrel US crude inventory build, which pushed Brent below $87 and WTI down 2.11%, suggesting the market is pricing demand destruction over supply risk. The US-Iran standoff continues with Hegseth saying the US can hold the strait 'indefinitely' and Iran claiming control, but oil prices fell, indicating traders see the conflict as contained or demand-destructive. Separately, Workday shares jumped 17% on a report of Silver Lake buyout talks at up to $43 billion, and Anthropic is reportedly planning a $2 trillion IPO in October, which could be the largest ever, while OpenAI's annualized revenue surpassed $40 billion. These AI-related developments are significant for tech sentiment. The Fed rate hike odds for September fell to ~35% after soft CPI and PPI, supporting a risk-on tone in equities.