WS #11753

The US-Iran conflict continues to escalate, with new strikes reported on both sides. Iran's navy site in Konarak was attacked, and Kuwait and Bahrain launched joint military strikes against Iran. The US struck 90 targets across Iran, including near the Bushehr nuclear plant, while Iran resumed attacks on US assets in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. The Strait of Hormuz remains contested, with Iranian forces claiming control. Oil prices pulled back ~2% on Thursday as tanker traffic continued despite rhetoric, but the geopolitical risk premium remains elevated. The SPR fell to its lowest since 1983, highlighting supply vulnerability. PepsiCo warned on consumer squeeze from rising fuel costs, signaling bearish consumer discretionary. On the tech side, a startup PrismML compressed a 27B-parameter AI model to run on an iPhone 17 Pro, with Apple reportedly reaching out—bullish for AAPL and edge AI. AMD surged 5.8% on Morgan Stanley supply chain report showing surging demand for next-gen chips. S&P downgraded Oracle to 'BBB-/A-3', the last rating before junk. A $24M bullish QQQ call spread was executed, signaling high-conviction tech optimism. Bernanke joined Anthropic's independent trust as adviser. The narrative arc is ESCALATING for US-Iran conflict, but STABLE for tech rally with semiconductors rebounding.