WS #12242

The US-Iran conflict continues to escalate with a sixth consecutive night of US airstrikes on Iran, now targeting sites near the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran, as Tehran warns it might close another strategic oil route. This is corroborated by multiple sources including BBC, Al Jazeera, and social media reports. The conflict remains the dominant macro driver, keeping risk assets under pressure while energy and defense stocks benefit. Separately, Reuters exclusively reports that PayPal's board sees a $53 billion Stripe-Advent takeover bid as inadequate and is evaluating the bid against a standalone strategy, with talks continuing. This could move PYPL significantly. Additionally, the FDA is investigating Taylor Farms lettuce supplied to Taco Bell as a possible source of a cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened thousands, with over 4,300 cases in Michigan alone. This follows Sweetgreen's losses from a similar outbreak. In corporate news, Alcoa shares tumbled after a cyclone cut into alumina output, impacting AA. SpaceX Starship test flight 13 was aborted moments before liftoff, which may affect sentiment for space-related stocks. The AI chip selloff continues with SMCI, ORCL, INTC leading declines, and Alphabet's Gemini delay rattling the sector. China's open-weight Kimi model stuns the AI world with frontier-level results, potentially increasing competition for US AI companies. Canada wildfires are prompting US air quality alerts, with over 800 fires burning, which could impact insurance and energy sectors. The prevailing macro narrative is bearish for risk assets due to geopolitical tensions, but energy and defense stocks may benefit. The US-Iran conflict is ESCALATING, with no de-escalation signals detected.