WS #14169

The US-Iran/Hormuz conflict remains the dominant market driver, with escalation persisting. Key developments include UAE state oil company ADNOC confirming another vessel attack in the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump's renewed threat to declare the strait a US 'territory', which Iran rejects. These events sustain elevated oil price risk, benefiting energy names (XOM, CVX) while pressuring airlines (DAL, UAL) and shipping (MATX). No de-escalation signals are present; the narrative is stable-to-escalating. Separately, CoreWeave's Q2 results show strong revenue growth and a $104B backlog, but concerns about NVIDIA dependence and a net loss temper enthusiasm; this is a high-signal data point for AI infrastructure names (NVDA, CRWV). Anthropic's IPO expectations of $2T+ are corroborated by multiple sources, reinforcing bullish sentiment for AI (MSFT, GOOGL). Gold prices are holding near recent highs as Fed rate-hike odds fade, supporting gold miners (NEM, GDX).