WS #14287

The dominant market narrative remains the US-Iran conflict, which is ESCALATING. The MOU between the US and Iran expired Monday, and President Trump has explicitly rejected extending it, while Iran has shifted to a 'fully offensive' posture. This has driven Brent crude above $91/bbl and WTI to $84.68, up ~2.8% on the day, and pushed the 30-year Treasury yield to 5.31%, its highest since June 2007. The combination of higher oil and yields pressured US equities, with the S&P 500 and Dow each down ~0.5%, while the Nasdaq fell 0.3%. Energy stocks outperformed, while airlines and other oil-sensitive sectors were hit. The market is also watching the August 19 deadline for new US tariffs on Canada, with Canadian inflation at 3.0% in July, adding to macro headwinds. In the AI space, Anthropic's annualized revenue run-rate has surpassed $65B (up 7x from end-2025), ahead of a potential IPO, and Nvidia's $105B commitment to finance OpenAI's Ohio data center was confirmed via SEC filing, reinforcing the AI infrastructure buildout. Memory stocks rallied strongly, with the Roundhill Memory ETF up 5.36%, on reports that the Trump administration is pressuring Apple to avoid Chinese memory chips, boosting Micron's strategic value.