WS #11730

The US-Iran conflict continues to escalate sharply, with multiple sources reporting fresh attacks and threats. The US struck Iranian railway bridges en route to Khamenei's funeral, and Iran reportedly launched cruise missiles at US ships near Bahrain. Iran's IRGC warned of devastating responses to US 'adventures' in the Strait of Hormuz, and traffic through the strait has ground to a near halt. Qatar has suspended plans to restart LNG production after an attack on its tanker, threatening European gas prices. Oil prices are edging lower despite the escalation, with WTI down ~2% to $72.28 and Brent down ~1.5% to $76.87, as traders assess the renewed hostilities. The tech/AI narrative remains strong: Micron surged 7% on a $250B US investment plan, Applied Materials jumped 7% on strong AI demand visibility, and Lumentum surged 11.6% on AI optical interconnect catalysts. The US 30-year bond auction is set to draw the highest yield in 20 years. Gold is up 1.3%, silver up 3.6%. The dominant theme is the re-escalation of US-Iran hostilities, which is bearish for risk assets and bullish for energy and gold, but the tech sector is showing resilience with positive AI catalysts.