WS #6554

The Strait of Hormuz conflict remains the dominant market narrative, with the situation ESCALATING. Multiple sources confirm an exchange of fire between US and Iranian forces in the past 24 hours, including Iranian missile and drone strikes on an oil facility in the UAE's Fujairah port, causing a fire and sending Brent crude spiking to $115/barrel. US Defense Secretary Hegseth confirmed the ceasefire is not over but warned of a 'devastating' response to any Iranian attack on shipping. Ships are clustering off Dubai as Iran expands its area of control at Hormuz. This escalation directly threatens oil supply routes, keeping energy stocks bullish and transport/airline stocks under pressure. ECB President Lagarde urged Europe to reduce energy import dependency, highlighting the macro impact. Separately, Russia's Kirishi oil refinery halted processing after Ukrainian drone attacks, adding to supply-side concerns. In corporate news, K Wave Media scrapped a $485M bitcoin treasury plan to redirect funds to AI, sending shares down 24%. Coinbase confirmed a 14% staff cut (~700 jobs) citing AI gains. SoundHound AI launched a self-learning AI platform OASYS. Broadcom announced VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 for AI workloads. Bitcoin briefly topped $80,000 with onchain data showing profit-taking absorbed. The US March trade deficit widened to -$60.3B, while Canada posted a surprise trade surplus on oil and gold exports. Romania's government was dissolved after a no-confidence vote, pressuring the leu. UK local elections loom on Thursday. The dominant theme is the escalating Iran-US conflict, with oil prices and energy stocks as the primary transmission mechanism.