WS #8167

The dominant signal in this window is the US-Iran peace deal narrative, which is escalating with new details. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated a 'solid' deal may come on Monday, involving a 60-day ceasefire extension and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. This is corroborated by BBC, Al Jazeera, and Bloomberg reports. Oil prices fell sharply and Asian stock markets rose on the news. However, Rubio cautioned not to read too much into it, and Iran's foreign ministry said they are 'very close and very far' from a deal. Separately, Japan's Nikkei closed at an all-time high, and Singapore's economy beat expectations while warning of Iran war fallout. A massive Russian strike on Ukrainian military command facilities was reported, and Macron warned Belarus against involvement in Ukraine. The AI memory boom continues to fuel the Roundhill DRAM ETF, which is the fastest-growing ETF launch in history. Huawei announced plans to achieve 200-250 million transistors per square millimeter without advanced lithography by 2031. IBM and Meta unveiled a 100B-parameter open-source AI model. The Iran deal is the most market-moving development, with direct implications for oil prices, shipping, and broad indices.