WS #7144

The dominant macro narrative remains the Middle East escalation and oil supply disruption, which continues to ESCALATE. Oil prices surged again, with WTI crude closing above $102 and Brent above $107, driven by ongoing Strait of Hormuz tensions. The UK announced deployment of a warship and fighter jets to the Strait of Hormuz for a multinational security mission, with £115 million in new funding to protect shipping lanes. This escalation reinforces the bullish oil thesis and bearish risk-on sentiment. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell as oil jumped, with tech stocks under pressure. Meanwhile, the US Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh to a 14-year term as a Federal Reserve governor, with his concurrent term as Fed chair also being processed, signaling potential hawkish lean. UK long-term bond yields hit 1998 highs as the pound slumped amid political uncertainty around PM Starmer. On the corporate side, Bel Fuse announced a 1.3M share offering, Bitcoin Depot expressed substantial doubt about going concern, and Nextpower beat Q4 estimates and raised FY27 guidance. Meta temporarily gave rival AI chatbots WhatsApp access during EU antitrust talks, a potential regulatory concession.