WS #9576

The dominant signal in this window is a sharp de-escalation in US-Iran tensions, with President Trump cancelling planned military strikes on Iran and announcing progress toward a deal. This was corroborated across multiple high-credibility sources (CNBC, NBC, Bloomberg, AP, Reuters, Al Jazeera, BBC, Guardian) and triggered a broad market rally, with the Nasdaq up ~2%, Dow +1.77%, and S&P 500 +1.5%. Oil prices turned sharply lower on the news, reversing earlier gains. Separately, Trump nominated former SEC Chair Jay Clayton as Director of National Intelligence, a move widely reported and seen as a stabilizing choice after the controversial Bill Pulte appointment. The SpaceX IPO narrative continues to build, with space stocks rallying ahead of Friday's debut. The ECB hiked rates for the first time in three years, lifting European bank stocks. The prior narrative of US-Iran escalation is now DE-ESCALATING, with the strike cancellation and deal framework acting as a strong counter-signal to the bearish oil/geopolitical risk thesis.