WS #6566

The US-Iran ceasefire remains officially in place per Pentagon chief Hegseth, despite a second day of Iranian missile and drone attacks on the UAE and ongoing clashes in the Strait of Hormuz. This is the dominant macro theme, with cross-source corroboration from Al Jazeera, CNBC, and multiple social media posts. The situation is ESCALATING: Iran struck UAE oil infrastructure, hitting a Fujairah port and setting an oil facility ablaze, wounding three Indian nationals. The UAE air defenses are actively engaging new waves of attacks. Oil prices jumped 6% on the news, and Chevron's CEO warned of imminent physical oil shortages. This directly impacts energy stocks (bullish XOM, CVX, XLE) and airlines (bearish DAL, UAL, AAL). A key counter-signal is Hegseth's insistence the ceasefire holds, which may cap oil's upside temporarily. Separately, Intel surged 14% on a Bloomberg report that Apple is in early talks with Intel and Samsung to produce chips in the US, a potential shift away from TSMC. This is a high-significance MAG7 carve-out: INTC is surging while the broader tech narrative is mixed. Palantir fell 6% despite beating earnings, as analysts flagged lagging US commercial sales and high valuation. Pinterest jumped 17% after-hours on a strong Q1 beat and Q2 guidance above estimates. Anthropic CEO reported 80x revenue growth in Q1 on an annualized basis, and OpenAI/Anthropic JVs are in talks to buy engineering firms, signaling continued AI investment intensity. Coinbase is cutting 14% of its workforce. The Romanian pro-EU government fell via a no-confidence vote, adding political uncertainty in Eastern Europe. The US ISM Services PMI came in at 53.6, slightly below the 53.7 forecast, but job openings data was little changed. The Fed's Bowman called for a multi-faceted response to financial fraud. Overall, the Hormuz crisis is the primary market driver, with energy and defense stocks likely to benefit, while consumer and transport sectors face headwinds.