WS #9040

The dominant signal remains the escalating Iran-Strait of Hormuz crisis, with a new Bluesky post confirming that Oman has halted crude oil loading at the Mina Al Fahal terminal following a suspected drone attack at offshore mooring berths. This corroborates earlier reports of a 70% drop in tanker traffic and Brent at $101/barrel. The crisis is ESCALATING. Separately, a Zcash vulnerability was disclosed allowing unlimited counterfeit minting, causing ZEC to drop 31%; the bug was fixed but the market impact is significant for crypto. Asian stocks are pressured by tech losses, with Korean stocks pulling back from record highs after Broadcom's AI-chip outlook fell short of expectations. HSBC and AIA shares fell on reports of Hong Kong bank account curbs for mainland clients. Zelenskyy publicly called for face-to-face negotiations with Putin, proposing a neutral third country, which could be a de-escalation signal for the Ukraine conflict. Hut 8 priced $4.25B in senior secured notes for a data center project, a positive for the company. Cathie Wood's ARK rebalance added BABA, META, AVGO, COIN, and CRCL while trimming BIDU, ACHR, TER, and VCYT. Merlin stock spiked 30%+ after-hours on a USSOCOM-backed C-130J autonomy program milestone. Gold is on track for a weekly loss amid uncertainty over US-Iran talks. Iron ore heads for a fourth weekly loss. The RBI is expected to hold rates today but an August hike looks near certain.