WS #10504

The dominant narrative remains a severe global tech selloff, now escalating further. Nasdaq futures fell 2.64% as the rout wiped 10% off South Korea's Kospi, with chipmakers down over 12% in Asia and Micron falling 9% premarket. The selloff is spreading to Europe, with Bloomberg reporting 'Tech stock selloff spreads to Europe.' Multiple sources corroborate the depth: Seeking Alpha notes 'Bitcoin under pressure amid tech-led selloff,' and a Bluesky post lists drawdowns including MSFT -33%, META -30%, ORCL -51%, and NOW -55%. Oracle's annual filing reveals 21,000 job cuts (13% of workforce) due to AI adoption, with $1.84B in severance costs, adding to negative sentiment. On the geopolitical front, Putin states Russian forces are close to capturing Kostyantynivka in Donetsk and that there is no ground for talks with Zelenskiy given Ukrainian strikes on civilian targets, indicating escalation. Trump claims 19 million barrels of oil flowed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, a counter-signal to supply disruption fears. Additionally, the EU's ECON Committee approved a citizen-first DigitalEuro, a potential long-term shift in digital payments. A counter-signal to the tech rout: BofA raised price targets on Intel, Arm, and Micron, citing AI spending visibility extending to 2028, which could provide some support to semiconductor stocks.