We’re At War With Iran. The Strait of Hormuz is disrupted. Chips rallied 5%. Bitcoin ripped past $73K. And nonfarm payrolls drop Friday.
THE RUNDOWN
WAR › U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran are now in their fourth day. Iran partially closed the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for roughly 13 million barrels of oil per day. A container ship was struck at the Strait today. Qatar halted LNG production. Saudi Arabia’s biggest refinery went offline after drone attacks. Trump said the Navy will escort tankers “if necessary” and told reporters alongside Germany’s Merz: “Everything’s been knocked out in Iran.” Oil spiked above $77 on Monday, pulled back to $74 on Wednesday after Treasury Secretary Bessent signaled measures to ease fuel prices. Goldman said only a “severe and sustained” disruption would hit global growth. That scenario isn’t off the table.
TECH › The Nasdaq led a risk-on bounce, gaining 1.29%. Micron and AMD each rallied more than 5%. Broadcom and Nvidia both added over 1%. The ISM Services report helped: the U.S. service economy expanded at its fastest pace since mid-2022, while the price index inside that report cooled to a nearly one-year low. Stronger activity plus softer prices is exactly what the market wants. After hours, Broadcom’s guidance underwhelmed but the company announced a $10 billion buyback through end of 2026.
CRYPTO › Bitcoin crossed $73,000, up nearly 8% in 24 hours. Partly geopolitical hedging, partly legislative: the Clarity Act (stablecoin legalization) is gaining momentum, and Trump publicly sided with crypto firms over …