Good Morning!

Markets remain on edge this week as escalating conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran injects fresh volatility into global assets. While the initial reaction has been sharp across commodities and equities, the broader market response has so far been surprisingly measured.

U.S. stock futures slipped Wednesday following another turbulent session on Wall Street. The $SPX ( ▼ 1.33% ) , $DJI ( ▼ 0.95% ) , and $NSDQ ( ▲ 9.72% ) all closed Tuesday down roughly 1%, though each recovered significantly from deeper intraday losses.

The driver remains clear: geopolitical risk.

Iran has threatened shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy choke points, responsible for roughly 20% of globally traded oil flows. In response, the U.S. announced plans to provide insurance and potentially naval escorts for tankers transiting the region.

This escalation has pushed traders into classic risk-off positioning, selling equities while rotating into commodities and safe-haven assets.

Oil has been the biggest mover.

Brent crude jumped above $82–$84 per barrel, after gaining roughly 12% in just two sessions, the largest move since 2020. WTI crude climbed toward $76.

Supply concerns intensified after reports that Iraq began shutting down major oil fields, including the Rumaila field and West Qurna 2 project, which together account for a significant portion of the country’s production.

Energy traders are now pricing in the possibility of sustained disruption if the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively blocked.

Asian equities saw the most dramatic reaction.

South Korea’s KOSPI plunged more than 12%, triggering trading halts and marking its worst day on record. The drop was driven largely by heavy selling in semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, both of which have been major beneficiaries of the global AI boom.

Other regional markets followed lower:

Much of Asia is particularly vulnerable to oil shocks due to its dependence on Middle Eastern energy imports.

The geopolitical shock has also triggered a reversal in one of the market’s most crowded trades: artificial intelligence.

Foreign investors dumped billions of dollars of Asian tech stocks this week as investors rushed to reduce exposure to high-multiple growth names. Chipmakers that led last year’s rally have been hit especially hard as rising energy prices raise concerns about the long-term economics of power-intensive AI infrastructure.

In short, the AI momentum trade is finally seeing its first serious stress test.

Despite the headlines, some analysts believe markets have reacted relatively calmly.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon noted that the market response has been “surprisingly benign” given the scale of the geopolitical escalation, suggesting it may take several weeks for investors to fully digest the implications.

Historically, markets tend to spike in volatility immediately following geopolitical shocks before stabilizing within a few weeks. However, much will depend on whether the conflict disrupts energy flows long enough to reignite global inflation pressures.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been paying close attention to feedback inside the Discord.

One request kept coming up again and again:

“We want another stock analyst.”

So that’s exactly what I did.

Everyone please welcome C1apped to the TradingLab team. 🍻

And I’m not exaggerating when I say this.

The guy is an absolute weapon in low-float stocks.

Low-float stocks move fast.

When volume floods in, they can run 20%, 30%, even 40% in a single session.

But catching those moves requires:

• Speed
• Volume analysis
• Real-time execution

That’s exactly what C1apped specializes in.

His strategy focuses on volume-driven reversals and breakouts in penny and low-float names, with alerts delivered live as setups appear.

C1apped trades during the highest liquidity window of the day:

7:00 AM – 11:30 AM EST

That’s when:

• Premarket momentum builds
• Volume spikes
• And low-floats make their biggest moves

Last month’s results:

That kind of consistency is exactly why we brought him into TradingLab.

Our goal with TradingLab has always been simple:

Build the most valuable trading community possible.

That means continuously adding:

• Experienced traders
• New strategies
• More tools and insights

And this is only the start.

More upgrades are already coming in the months ahead.

Want to catch the next trade before it runs?

Inside TradingLab, our members get the setups live — entries, targets, and trade management from our analysts.

👉 Join TradingLab and catch the next move with us

Stay ahead, stay informed, and most importantly, stay profitable.

‘til next time,

TradingLab