WS #12271

The US-Iran conflict is escalating sharply, with a sixth consecutive night of US strikes on Iranian civilian infrastructure including bridges and power plants, and Iran retaliating by attacking Kuwaiti water and power plants. An ExxonMobil-chartered tanker was attacked near the Black Sea CPC terminal, and Houthis threaten to blockade the Bab al-Mandab strait, creating twin oil chokepoint risks. Oil prices surged ~2% on Friday, with Brent up 13% for the week and heading toward $100/barrel. Chevron is signing preliminary deals to invest in Iraqi oil fields and bypass the Strait of Hormuz via a pipeline to the Mediterranean, a potential counter-signal to the oil supply crisis. The tech selloff continues, with Netflix sliding 8% on weak guidance, Intuitive Surgical down 11%, and Nasdaq futures down 2%. However, Apple is a notable outlier, upgraded by HSBC and hitting an all-time high, contradicting the broader tech weakness. Andy Burnham was elected UK Labour leader and will become Prime Minister on Monday, a political shift that could impact UK markets. The dominant themes are an ESCALATING geopolitical crisis in the Middle East driving oil prices higher, and a STABLE but persistent tech selloff with pockets of strength in Apple and energy stocks.