WS #6551

The Strait of Hormuz conflict remains the dominant market narrative, with the situation ESCALATING. US forces sank 6 Iranian boats, Iran responded by firing missiles and drones at the UAE, hitting an oil facility in Fujairah. US officials tell Fox News the risk of large-scale military conflict with Iran has intensified in the past 24 hours. A second US Air Force tanker squawked emergency over Saudi Arabia after departing the Strait of Hormuz. US gasoline inventories have dropped to their lowest seasonal level in over 10 years. Goldman Sachs warns global oil inventories are crashing to an eight-year low. Oil is starting to see demand destruction, according to Rystad Energy. European corn hit a fresh two-year high as weather concerns and higher farm input costs due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz threaten to limit supply outside the US. Australia defied global monetary easing by hiking interest rates. The Romanian parliament ousted the prime minister in a no-confidence vote. In corporate news, Coinbase announced a 14% workforce reduction (~660 jobs) citing AI and market conditions. Google, xAI and Microsoft agreed to US national security reviews of new AI models per FT. Apple may use Intel to build main device chips in the US. AB InBev returned to growth with Q1 volumes rising 0.8%, beating expectations. Pfizer topped Q1 estimates and reaffirmed guidance. Shopify beat Q1 estimates but shares fell. TransDigm Group raised FY26 guidance after strong Q2. Leonardo DRS raised FY26 guidance. Cummins raised FY26 sales guidance. AGCO beat estimates and raised guidance. Rockwell Automation raised FY26 guidance significantly. BellRing Brands lowered FY26 sales guidance. DigitalOcean surged on raised guidance. Sphere Entertainment beat Q1 estimates. Energy Transfer missed EPS but beat revenue. Fiserv stock dipped on revenue miss. Palantir shares traded lower after Q1 results. Cytokinetics announced positive Phase 3 results for aficamten in non-obstructive HCM. BioNTech closing three manufacturing sites, cutting 1,860 jobs. KKR beat Q1 estimates. Bullish agreed to acquire Equiniti in a $4.2B deal. GD Culture Group received a going-private proposal at $10.75/share. Rumble received all regulatory approvals for merger with Northern Data. The narrative arc is ESCALATING for the Iran conflict, with no de-escalation signals in this window.