WS #10592

The dominant signal in this window is the continued de-escalation of the Strait of Hormuz crisis, with TOP Ships confirming its VLCC Legio X safely exited the Strait, and the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait resuming operations. This counters the bearish energy thesis. Separately, OpenAI and Broadcom unveiled their custom 'Jalapeño' AI chip, sending AVGO up ~3% and reinforcing the AI infrastructure buildout. Qualcomm announced a $3.9B all-stock acquisition of Modular Inc. to challenge Nvidia in data centers, a high-significance M&A event. Wendy's surged 20% on meme-trader activity, while InMode rose 11% on an unsolicited buyout proposal. Nancy Pelosi disclosed purchases of Intel and Uber call options. The chip selloff narrative is stable, with Micron earnings awaited after close. The European heatwave is causing disruptions but no direct market-moving data yet.