WS #11710

The US-Iran conflict has escalated sharply, with fresh US strikes on Iran and Iranian retaliation against Kuwait and Bahrain, effectively collapsing the ceasefire. Trump stated the ceasefire is 'over' but also noted Iran called to make a deal, creating uncertainty. Oil prices initially spiked but have since eased as markets reassess supply risks; Brent crude fell back below $77/barrel. The Strait of Hormuz traffic has nearly halted, with only 14 commodity vessels crossing on Wednesday, the lowest since the ceasefire. Russia banned diesel exports after Ukrainian drone strikes on oil infrastructure, adding to global fuel supply tightness. PepsiCo reported mixed Q2 results: revenue beat but EPS missed, with North American consumer weakness flagged. Keybanc downgraded Salesforce to Sector Weight. The French competition authority's probe into Nvidia is nearing an end. SK Hynix's US IPO is oversubscribed 7x, drawing massive capital away from crypto. Bitcoin and ether exchange supplies hit multi-year lows, but analysts caution this signal is less reliable now. China's CPI rose 1% YoY in June, PPI up 4.1%.