SHEL

Bloomberg Daybreak Europe (7/24/2026) highlights: (1) US imposes new tariffs (10%–12.5%) across imports from ~60 economies, rebuilding Trump’s tariff wall after prior Supreme Court-related setback; (2) Trump threatens escalation of strikes on Iran and blames Iran for any further Houthi attacks in the Red Sea—raising energy supply risk; (3) Volkswagen cuts revenue expectations amid weak China sales; (4) risk-off tech tone: “Mag7 loses $797B” and “tech stocks are dumped”; (5) stock-specific beats/

Escalating US–Iran tensions (11th night of strikes) are lifting oil toward a 6-week high; Europe’s gas market flagged as vulnerable by Equinor. Tech has rallied into the first Magnificent 7 earnings prints with Alphabet and Tesla after-market. In Europe, Santander and Equinor beat Q2 expectations.

Key actionable catalysts: (1) UK political transition with uncertainty on cabinet/fiscal stance (GBP, UK rates, UK banks/defensives sensitive), (2) escalation in US–Iran conflict lifting oil and pressuring risk assets/bonds, (3) Ryanair profit miss tied to higher fuel and weaker demand prompting peak-season fare cuts (airlines negative, energy positive).

Escalation in US–Iran strikes is driving a sharp geopolitical risk premium into energy (Brent +~4.4/4.5% premarket) and pressuring global risk assets (S&P futures lower; Europe futures down). In Asia, SK Hynix is down double-digits (described as the largest drop on record), weighing on KOSPI sentiment. Key tradable implications: near-term long energy / short rate-sensitive cyclicals and travel; watch Middle East shipping chokepoints (Strait of Hormuz) for further upside tail risk in crude and re

Headline mix: renewed US strikes on Iran with Strait of Hormuz traffic near standstill, but Brent crude is slightly lower (~-1%) and European oil stocks (e.g., Shell) are down. Hawkish Fed minutes raise odds of tighter policy. AstraZeneca drops ~12% after a late-stage trial failure, weighing on FTSE 100.

Key near-term catalysts: (1) French political risk event (Marine Le Pen appeal ruling) with potential knock-on effects to French risk assets and Europe politics; (2) sharp risk-off move in Korea semiconductors despite strong headline earnings (Samsung -10% intraday after a 19x profit jump; SK Hynix -6%), dragging KOSPI and triggering an earlier trading halt; (3) oil prices rising, supporting energy complex; (4) ASML called out as sinking, adding pressure to global chip sentiment.

CFTC-style positioning update: money managers sharply cut net-long Brent crude futures/options to 114,128 for week ending Jun 16, driven by lower long-only and much higher short-only positions. Comment notes the data cut-off excludes later-week volatility (“the passions didn’t enter the statistics”).