Crude oil jumped more than 5% today as US-Iran hostilities escalated. Traders fear tighter flow through the Strait of Hormuz. The energy shock hit markets in risk-off mode. OVV (Ovintiv) saw short interest spike 37% in a single day to 5.95% of free float. Energy sector shorts are moving fast.
Fed Governor Waller spoke today. He said tariffs, energy prices, and AI investment are all pushing inflation higher. But he sees the labour market as stable. Rate cut hopes didn't get a boost.
Banks take centre stage tomorrow. BAC, WFC, and C all report Q2 Tuesday morning. DAL already delivered — analysts boosted forecasts following upbeat Q2 results today. Travel demand is holding up.
NFLX reports Thursday. Options markets are skewing defensive ahead of the print. Short interest sits at 2.4% of free float. and also report Thursday.
Asian chipmakers — TSMC, SK Hynix, Samsung — now account for 29% of the MSCI Emerging Markets index. Wall Street tech stocks fell as those names were hammered overnight. PANW bucked the trend. Citigroup raised its target to $400 and kept its Buy rating.
Defense stocks face analyst pressure. LDOS short interest surged 33.7% in one day after JP Morgan cut its target by 24%. NOC saw TD Cowen trim its target to $580.
European stocks slid but the defense sector gained. Ukraine ratified a $105 billion EU loan deal, lifting defense names. South Korean markets fell over 5% as tech heavyweights tracked Wall Street's AI-linked selloff.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
