WS #12234

The US-Iran conflict continues to escalate with a sixth straight night of US airstrikes targeting infrastructure across southern Iran, including bridges, ports, and an airport, corroborated by multiple sources (Al Jazeera, multiple Bluesky accounts, GDELT). This keeps geopolitical risk elevated and supports oil prices, though WTI crude closed down 0.82% at $78.95/bbl, possibly on profit-taking or demand concerns. 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 ~7% in after-hours trading. Alcoa missed Q2 estimates on both revenue and EPS, falling 3.5%+ after hours. 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. The semiconductor selloff continued with the PHLX Semiconductor Index nearing bear market territory, driven by valuation concerns and AI capex ROI doubts. Alphabet fell 4%+ on reports of a delay in Gemini 3.5 Pro launch, a negative for GOOGL. Apple rose to all-time highs on China regulatory news, acting as a MAG7 carve-out. The dominant narrative is the US-Iran conflict escalation (ESCALATING) and the tech selloff (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.