Markets — Close (Jul 8)
US INDICES
- S&P 500: 7,482.71 (-0.28%)
- Dow: 52,348.39 (-1.09%, -577 pts)
- Nasdaq: 25,870.65 (+0.20%)
- Russell 2000: 2,956.39 (-0.88%)
- VIX: 16.90 (+4.77%)
SECTOR ROTATION
Tech +1.25% led (NVDA +3.7%, AVGO +4.8%), Industrials -1.13%, Financials -1.72% lagged. Defense retreat: RTX -3.0%, LMT -1.4%, BA -2.9%.
COMMODITIES
- WTI Crude: $74.47 (+1.29%)
- Brent: $78.91 (+1.14%)
- Gold: $4,085.30 (+0.07%)
CRYPTO
- BTC: $62,261 (-1.68%)
- ETH: $1,742 (-1.60%)
BONDS
- 10Y: 4.569% (+0.04%)
- 2Y: 4.33%
- 30Y: 5.07%
Geopolitical Intel — ThinkCreate
PRIORITY THREATS
[LVL 7/10] — US Launches New Strikes on Iran
Wed, Jul 8 23:46 UTC — NYT + 3 sources
Coords: 32.427, 53.688
US military confirms new strikes on Iranian military boats. Escalation comes hours after Trump declared ceasefire “over” in public remarks.
[LVL 7/10] — US Strikes Target Iranian Military Boats
Wed, Jul 8 05:42 GMT — BBC + 6 sources
Coords: 38.907, -77.036
Direct targeting of Iranian naval assets marks shift from infrastructure to military confrontation.
[LVL 5/10] — Trump Praises NATO ‘Unity’ After Lashing Allies
Wed, Jul 8 21:59 UTC — NYT + 3 sources
Coords: 49.487, 31.272 (Kyiv area)
Whiplash messaging on NATO — criticism followed by unity praise.
DEFENSE STOCKS (Close)
RTX $194.91 (-2.96%) | LMT $527.96 (-1.39%)
NOC $545.11 (-0.72%) | GD $374.31 (-0.09%)
BA $224.95 (-2.90%) | PLTR $132.22 (-1.60%)
LIVE DATA SNAPSHOT
• Commercial flights: 4,611 | Military: 191 | Private: 1,985
• Tracked aircraft: 1,142
• Vessels: 26,025
• GPS jamming events: 7
• Earthquakes (24h): 35
• GDELT incidents: 1,183
Earnings Recap — July 8
AZZ (AZZ) — Beat +9.6%
- Actual: $1.85 | Est: $1.69
- Fiscal 2027 Q1 — electrical infrastructure strong
- Market cap: $4.31B
Helen of Troy (HELE) — Massive Beat +588%
- Actual: $0.17 | Est: $0.02
- Q1 surprise profit reverses expectations
- Market cap: $586M
PriceSmart (PSMT) — Beat +7.6%
- Actual: $1.28 | Est: $1.19
- Fiscal 2026 Q3 — membership warehouse strong
- Market cap: $5.84B
Sono-Tek (SOTK) — Beat +25%
- Actual: $0.05 | Est: $0.04
- Small cap precision coating tech
- Market cap: $84M
Misses
- Trilogy Metals (TMQ): -$0.04 vs -$0.03 est (-29.75%)
Asia Overnight
Hang Seng: 24,199 (+2.99%)
Strong China rebound — Alibaba +11%, tech led.
Nikkei 225: 66,819 (-2.11%)
Japan weakness continues, yen pressure.
KOSPI: 7,247 (-5.35%)
South Korea sharp selloff — worst performer.
India Sensex: 76,504 (-2.15%)
Broad EM weakness outside China.
Europe Close
DAX: 24,897 (-2.23%)
CAC 40: 8,253 (-2.18%)
FTSE 100: 10,489 (-1.66%)
Euro Stoxx 50: 6,205 (-1.82%)
European markets sold off harder than US — risk-off tone dominated.
Bottom Line
Mixed signals: Tech held up (Nasdaq +0.20%) while defense sold off despite Iran escalation (RTX -3%, BA -2.9%). Markets pricing ceasefire failure but uncertainty high — oil barely moved (+1.3%) for conflict level. VIX +4.8% warns positioning fragile. Watch overnight Asia for contagion (KOSPI -5.4% already weak). Earnings beats (AZZ, HELE, PSMT) show domestic strength intact. Tomorrow: Monitor geopolitical headlines at 8:30 AM ET for tone shift.
Signal Brief published 7:00 PM ET | Next: Morning Brief Jul 9