A volatile week driven entirely by the US-Iran conflict saw oil prices swing wildly before settling into fragile uncertainty, yet Wall Street posted its best weekly gain since November with the Nasdaq up over 4.5%. March CPI spiked to 3.3% on soaring gas prices, putting the Fed in a tough spot, while Anthropic's powerful new AI model "Mythos" dominated tech headlines and major deals in media and music signaled dealmaking remains alive and well.

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Markets opened cautiously lower Friday as the Strait of Hormuz remained restricted despite the ceasefire, keeping oil prices elevated and stagflation fears alive ahead of the March CPI report. Intel was the standout corporate story, surging 50% over seven trading days on a wave of positive catalysts, while private credit stress continued to build with major funds at Carlyle, BlackRock, and Morgan Stanley all facing elevated redemption requests.

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Yesterday's ceasefire optimism quickly unraveled as Iran moved to re-close the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices surging back near $100 a barrel and keeping markets on edge. Corporate headlines were dominated by a massive $21 billion AI computing deal between CoreWeave and Meta, while Disney announced layoffs and Tesla dipped on news of a cheaper SUV. Stagflation concerns grew after Q4 GDP was revised down to 0.5% and Fed minutes revealed policymakers were already debating rate hikes, though all three indices managed to close modestly higher.

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A two-week US-Iran ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz sent markets surging on Wednesday, with US crude plunging over $20 to below $93 a barrel and triggering a massive rally in fuel-sensitive sectors like airlines and cruise lines, while energy stocks like Chevron and ExxonMobil lagged. The ceasefire shifted Fed rate cut odds to over 40% for December, Delta and Levi Strauss both beat earnings estimates, and memory chip makers soared on renewed AI optimism. All three major indices closed sharply higher, led by the Nasdaq up nearly 3%, while Bitcoin broke $70,000 on reports Iran wants its proposed Strait toll paid in cryptocurrency.

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