WS #10769

The dominant signal in this window is a sharp escalation in US-Iran tensions, with President Trump accusing Iran of violating the ceasefire by firing attack drones at ships in the Strait of Hormuz. This is corroborated by multiple priority Bluesky posts citing Reuters, and represents a significant escalation from the previously stable situation. The Strait of Hormuz alert also notes Brent crude down 3.1% in 24h, suggesting the market had been pricing in de-escalation. Separately, Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari stated he now expects a rate hike this year, a hawkish pivot from his prior cut expectation, corroborated by Bloomberg and CNBC. This is a major macro signal that counters the prevailing soft-landing narrative. In corporate news, ON Semiconductor (ON) is tanking 20% after announcing its Synaptics acquisition, while Boeing (BA) secured a $3.62B freighter order from China Southern and a $2B Space Force contract. The tech selloff narrative continues with the Nasdaq 7.2% off highs, but a large dark pool order for AAPL ($384.99M) suggests institutional accumulation. The OpenAI IPO timeline remains uncertain with no pre-IPO meetings held, dampening near-term IPO enthusiasm for the AI sector. The dominant narrative is ESCALATING on geopolitical risk and hawkish Fed, while tech remains under pressure.