WS #6755

A major geopolitical escalation dominates the window: US forces have conducted self-defense strikes against Iranian military facilities after Iran launched missiles, drones, and small boats at three US Navy destroyers transiting the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM confirmed the strikes, and multiple sources (Reuters, CBS, Al Jazeera, Fox) corroborate the event. This marks a significant escalation in US-Iran tensions, directly threatening oil transit through the Strait of Hormuz and raising the risk of supply disruptions. Separately, the US Court of International Trade ruled against Trump's 10% global tariffs, finding them unjustified under the Trade Act of 1974. This ruling, while limited to the plaintiffs in the case, introduces legal uncertainty around the tariff regime. In corporate news, Akamai Technologies surged 25% after announcing a $1.8 billion, seven-year commitment from a leading AI frontier model provider for its cloud infrastructure services, highlighting strong demand for AI-related compute. Kodiak AI tumbled 37% after a dilutive $100M capital raise at a steep discount, reflecting cash burn concerns. IREN (Iris Energy) shares fell after Q3 revenue missed estimates by 35%, though a separate $3.4B deal with Nvidia for AI data centers provided some offset. The dominant narrative is the US-Iran conflict, which is ESCALATING sharply, with potential knock-on effects for oil prices, shipping, and defense stocks.