WS #8411

The US-Iran conflict continues to escalate with no de-escalation signals in this window. Multiple sources (AP, Al Jazeera, Axios, and social media) report new US strikes on Iranian military sites near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's IRGC retaliating with missile/drone attacks on a US base in Kuwait, and Kuwait activating air defenses. This follows Trump's threat to 'blow up' Oman. The ceasefire appears broken. Oil prices remain elevated (Brent near $97, WTI near $91) with Polymarket contracts showing bets on WTI closing above $95. Gold tumbled to a two-month low ($4,385) as the dollar strengthened, though UBS remains bullish. Separately, Snowflake surged 35% premarket on a blowout quarter and $6B AWS deal, trading at 72x forward earnings. XPeng and Li Auto reported weak Q1 results with disappointing guidance, while Weibo beat revenue estimates. Mistral AI is exploring custom chip design, potentially impacting NVDA and ASML. The dominant theme is US-Iran conflict escalation, which is bearish for equities, bullish for oil, and negative for airlines and consumer stocks. The narrative is ESCALATING.