#Global Conflicts and #Energy #Spikes Roil Financial Markets

​Geopolitical Crisis & Inflation: Recent military clashes between U.S. and Iranian forces have raised fears of a blockade at the Strait of Hormuz. This has driven crude prices higher, triggering systemic inflation anxieties and overshadowing otherwise stable domestic economic data.

​Rate Hike Specter: Driven by these energy-related risks, expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate increase this December have dramatically climbed to 41.1% (up from 9.1% a month ago), despite the central bank's Beige Book noting steady labor and services growth.

​Wall Street Retreat: Amid profit-taking, the Dow plummeted 1.2% (50,687), the S&P 500 lost 0.7% (7,553), and the Nasdaq fell 0.9% (26,853). Small-caps underperformed, and though chip equities gained 1.4%, Meta Platforms (up 4.2%) was the only megacap survivor.

​Corporate Highlights: Defying the macro downturn, GameStop surged 6% on a $2 billion share repurchase program, while independent sources revealed SpaceX plans to target a $75 billion valuation at $135 a share for its upcoming public debut.