WS #9443

The US-Iran military escalation continues to dominate, with the US completing strikes on Iranian air defense and radar systems near the Strait of Hormuz after an Apache helicopter was downed. Iran retaliated with strikes on US bases in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait, with Jordan intercepting Iranian missiles. The narrative remains ESCALATING, with no de-escalation signals. Oil prices are likely to remain elevated, and Asian markets are broadly lower (Kospi -5%, Nikkei -1.23%). Separately, Japan's May PPI jumped 6.3% to a 3-year high, beating forecasts, signaling persistent inflation pressure. China's May PPI hit a near 4-year high of 3.9% while CPI stalled at 1.2%, indicating deflationary pressure in consumer demand. Gold prices fell below $4,200 for the first time since March 23, down 3.79%, as a stronger dollar and risk-off sentiment weigh. The SpaceX IPO demand is reported at over $250 billion, dwarfing the $75 billion target, with the IPO expected June 12. OpenAI is in lease negotiations for a 10-gigawatt data center in Ohio, backed by NVIDIA, per The Information. Meta is partnering with Reliance for its first AI data center in India. The narrative arc is ESCALATING for the US-Iran conflict, with no de-escalation signals in this window.