Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk.
Geopolitical risk is back at the center of the trade. President Trump has vowed to strike Iranian nuclear facilities as Middle East tensions escalate sharply, and Goldman Sachs is now warning oil could surge to one hundred twenty dollars per barrel if the Strait of Hormuz faces sustained disruption. That is not a tail risk anymore — that is a live scenario traders are pricing.
Compounding the shipping picture, at least four Saudi tankers reversed course in the Red Sea after fresh threats from Houthi rebels. That puts two critical energy corridors under pressure simultaneously, and any prolonged blockage tightens global supply chains at a moment when inflation expectations are already fragile.
Meanwhile, equities are shrugging off the geopolitical noise for now, led higher by chipmakers. The S-P five hundred is up nearly two thirds of a percent, and the Nasdaq one hundred is outperforming, gaining over one and a half percent on the session. Semiconductor strength is doing the heavy lifting, reminding the market that the A-I demand story still has real earnings muscle behind it.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
