WS #11731

The US-Iran conflict remains the dominant macro theme, with multiple sources reporting renewed hostilities: US strikes on Iranian railway bridges en route to Khamenei's funeral, Iranian cruise missile attacks on US ships near Bahrain, and Iran deploying special forces along the Iraqi Kurdistan border. The Strait of Hormuz traffic has ground to a near halt, and Iran's IRGC warns of 'crushing response' to US 'adventurism.' However, oil prices are edging lower despite the escalation, with Brent down ~1.5% to $76.87 and WTI down ~1.7% to $72.28, 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. Key developments include: (1) US-Iran conflict escalation with cross-source corroboration from multiple outlets (Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, BBC, AP) — US strikes on Iranian railway bridges and Iranian missile attacks on US ships near Bahrain, with Iran deploying special forces along the Iraqi Kurdistan border. (2) Oil prices edging lower despite the escalation, with Brent down ~1.5% and WTI down ~1.7%, as traders assess the renewed hostilities. (3) Tech sector strength driven by AI catalysts: Micron's $250B US investment plan, Applied Materials' strong AI demand visibility, and Lumentum's AI optical interconnect catalysts. (4) US 30-year bond auction set to draw highest yield in 20 years. (5) Gold and silver rallying on safe-haven demand.