DAILY FINANCIAL BULLETIN

A sharp escalation in US-Iran hostilities dealt a significant blow to global risk sentiment, with the deaths of two US service members in Jordan and renewed US strikes on Iran driving geopolitical risk premiums sharply higher. VIX surged 12.2% to 18.77, while all Magnificent 7 stocks closed in the red — NVDA fell 2.2%, META 2.8%, and TSLA 2.6%. In contrast, Brent crude jumped 4.6% to $88.10 on geopolitical risk premium, and gold held at $4,018 as a safe-haven bid. In crypto, BTC is holding around $64,700 while the Fear & Greed Index remains deep in Fear territory at 28; total crypto market cap hovers near $2.30 trillion. The 10-Year US Treasury yield is nearly flat at 4.54%, with the 2-year at 4.16% and the 2s10s spread holding a positive +38 bps slope. Looking ahead, with the FOMC meeting on July 29 just 10 days away, the Fed's rate decision is firmly in focus; the current dot plot median stands at 3.8%, and while no change is expected, markets will closely watch how the Fed addresses the geopolitical backdrop in its communications.