WS #10989

The dominant signal in this window is a major diplomatic breakthrough: President Trump announced that Iran has requested a meeting, which will take place tomorrow (June 30) in Doha, Qatar. This follows Iran's direct rejection of earlier claims about technical talks this week, but Trump's statement overrides that. The meeting could de-escalate the US-Iran conflict, reducing oil supply disruption risk and potentially lowering oil prices. This counters the prevailing bearish thesis on energy and geopolitical risk. Separately, Comcast announced a spin-off of NBCUniversal and Sky into a separate publicly traded company, sending CMCSA shares higher. Microsoft is experiencing a severe selloff, with a $570 billion rout setting up its worst month since 2000. Tech stocks are rebounding broadly, but MSFT's weakness is a notable divergence. Palantir announced an expanded partnership with Surf Air Mobility and a deal with Nvidia to deploy Nemotron models, boosting PLTR. Rocket Lab's $8B acquisition of Iridium continues to drive RKLB stock higher. British American Tobacco announced 9,000 job cuts as part of a cost-cutting drive. Bitcoin remains under pressure with ETF outflows and a strong dollar, though crowded dollar longs suggest a potential contrarian bounce.