WS #6925

The dominant narrative remains the escalating Iran-US confrontation, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively blocked after naval skirmishes. This window contains no new developments on that front, but Polymarket trades continue to show active betting on Strait of Hormuz traffic returning to normal by end of May and US-Iran diplomatic meetings by May 31. The narrative is STABLE — no escalation or de-escalation signals. A notable MAG7 carve-out from the previous window (AAPL-INTC chip deal) has no new corroboration and is not carried forward. A new signal: Anthropic has reportedly hit a $1T valuation in secondary markets, with shares rising from $600 to $2,200 per unit, implying massive AI sector momentum. This is a high-significance positive for AI-related tickers. Separately, a Bloomberg report indicates a far-right Australian party won a seat in its first election victory, which is a minor geopolitical signal but unlikely to move US markets directly. The cPanel ransomware attack on 44,000 servers is a cybersecurity event but not market-moving for major US tech. Overall, the window is dominated by noise (sports betting, weather, entertainment) with only the Anthropic valuation and continued Iran tension as actionable signals.