WS #12233

The US-Iran conflict continues to escalate with a sixth straight night of US airstrikes targeting infrastructure across southern Iran, including bridges, railway stations, and an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. This escalation is corroborated by multiple sources (Al Jazeera, multiple Bluesky accounts, GDELT), keeping geopolitical risk elevated and supporting oil prices. Asian LNG spot prices jumped 10% on Hormuz crisis supply fears, and the IEA predicts the first decrease in global oil demand since 2020, a bearish long-term signal for oil. In after-hours earnings, Netflix reported mixed Q2 results with weaker Q3 guidance (revenue and EPS below consensus), sending the stock down ~8% in after-hours trading. Intuitive Surgical beat Q2 estimates but fell on China challenges. Coca-Cola's fairlife subsidiary halted US production due to a ransomware attack, a negative for KO. Valero Energy authorized an additional $5B share repurchase program, a bullish signal for VLO and the energy sector. Morgan Stanley launched Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana trading on E*Trade, a bullish signal for crypto adoption and MS. The semiconductor selloff continued with the PHLX Semiconductor Index nearing bear market territory, driven by valuation concerns and AI capex ROI doubts. Apple rose to all-time highs on China regulatory news, acting as a MAG7 carve-out. The equal-weight S&P 500 outperformed, suggesting broadening market participation away from mega-cap tech. The dominant narrative is the US-Iran conflict escalation and the tech selloff, both ESCALATING. The Netflix earnings miss and weak guidance add to the negative tech sentiment, while the Valero buyback and Morgan Stanley crypto launch provide positive counterpoints.