Expiry Day, Iran Deal Hopes, and a Short Squeeze Brewing

Macro Backdrop

Markets got a boost from geopolitics this morning. VP Vance said a full spectrum of Iranian representatives will attend a peace signing on Friday. Oil slipped to a three-month low on the news. That eased energy-driven inflation fears and lifted stocks and bonds together. Gold is at a six-month low — down sharply as Iran war risk fades and investors chase other assets including the SpaceX IPO buzz dominating financial media.

Options Triple-Witching

Today is June options expiry — a triple-witching session. NVDA carries the deepest options chain with 29 active expiry dates. Chip stocks rebounded last week after a selloff, making near-dated options especially active. TSLA is under fresh pressure after Reuters reported it gave European regulators misleading Full Self-Driving safety data. Put interest in near-dated Tesla contracts is elevated.

Short Interest Watch

RZLV — Rezolve AI — is the standout borrow story today. Cost to borrow surged 377% in one week to 89.9%, an all-time high for the stock. Utilization hit 100% and availability collapsed to just 0.07%. Earnings are due June 26. Meanwhile, Cerebras Systems saw short interest jump 24 points last week to 30.3% of free float — the largest weekly move among mid- and large-cap US stocks.

Analyst Moves

Datadog got upgraded to Buy by Truist Securities with a $300 target. Paychex received a Buy upgrade from Citigroup with a $140 target. Both moves reflect continued confidence in software infrastructure names. Bio-Techne jumped after activist investor Ananym urged the company to explore a sale.

European Defence Reversal

European defence stocks reversed sharply today on funding concerns. The sector had been one of the strongest trades of 2026. Higher borrowing costs and a shift in warfare dynamics hit sentiment hard across the board.