WS #6287

The dominant market narrative this window centers on the resolution of the 75-day DHS shutdown, with the House passing a funding bill that excludes ICE and CBP, sending it to Trump's desk. This removes a key political overhang but leaves immigration enforcement funding unresolved. Simultaneously, Trump signed an executive order authorizing a cross-border pipeline and announced the removal of tariffs on Scottish whiskey, boosting Diageo and signaling trade policy shifts. The AI capex narrative continues to drive divergent MAG7 performance: Alphabet surged ~9% on strong cloud/Gemini results, while Meta plunged ~9% on a $145B AI spending plan without a cloud buffer, and Microsoft fell ~4% despite Azure growth. Oil prices remain volatile with Brent at ~$114, down ~6% on the day but still elevated due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade, with the IEA warning of a 9M bpd supply loss. The UK raised its terror threat level to 'severe' after a London stabbing, and the US Senate banned members from trading on prediction markets. Iran's Supreme Leader vowed to protect nuclear/missile capabilities, while the US seeks to deploy hypersonic missiles. The UAE announced it will leave OPEC effective May 1, a significant shift in oil market dynamics. Cross-source corroboration is high on DHS funding, Trump's tariff/pipeline actions, MAG7 earnings divergence, and Iran/Hormuz developments.