Weekly Highlights: With the US-Iran standoff and both straits facing an emergency, Trump swings the tariff hammer again, and tech giants wiped out $800 billion in a single day.

BlockBeats message, July 25. This week, global markets revolved around four main threads: the escalation of the US-Iran conflict, the US tariff “chain reaction” intensifying, the collapse in the yen exchange rate, and worries about AI-related tech capital expenditure. Risk-off sentiment and policy disruptions became intertwined:

International oil prices became the biggest trading focus this week. The US military continued to strike Iran and the Houthis, while threats to Red Sea shipping persisted. Brent crude rose above $100 per barrel for the first time in two months, and both crude benchmarks posted a third straight weekly gain. The dollar-to-yen rate rose to 163.98, hitting a new high since November 1986. In US stocks, the Dow closed down for a third consecutive week; the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also ended lower for a second consecutive week. Tesla plunged 14.5% on Thursday, falling nearly 18% over the week in total, the largest one-week decline since 2022. The single-day market value of the tech “Magnificent Seven” evaporated by nearly $800 billion.

The US-Iran conflict moved into a new stage, with both straits in emergency mode. The US military has completed its 13th consecutive night of strikes on Iran’s military targets and deployed B-1 bombers to strengthen its attack capability. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard claimed, in turn, that it had attacked US military facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan, as well as on Al-Laraq Island. With navigation through the Strait of Hormuz continuing to be disrupted, the Houthis also announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and attacked two Saudi oil tankers, further spreading the conflict risk into the Red Sea. US-Iran diplomatic mediation is still underway, but Iran has rejected a 10-day ceasefire proposal, and the US believes Iran lacks sincerity in negotiations.

The US stepped up tariffs in rapid succession over the course of a week, affecting nearly 60 economies. This week, the Trump administration took back-to-back actions: it imposed a 50% tariff on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods (effective August 19); it adjusted its aluminum import tariff policy and set up investment incentives in exchange for preferential tax rates; after announcing that imported generic drugs would maintain zero tariffs for two years, it said that starting in 2028, phased tariffs of 100% to 200% would be imposed; it added a 25% tariff on most Brazilian goods; and, citing that trade partners had not sufficiently banned products made with forced labor, it launched 301 tariffs on 60 economies, replacing the temporary global tariffs that were set to expire that day, covering 99.4% of the total value of US imports.

The yen broke below the 163 level, hitting a new low since 1986. Japan’s Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet Secretariat have repeatedly issued signals that they may intervene at any time, but as of Friday there have been no signs of any actual market entry. In its semiannual currency report, the US Treasury said the yen is significantly undervalued. Japan remains on the currency policy monitoring list, but it has not been labeled a currency manipulator.

Worries about AI capital expenditure dealt a blow to tech stocks. Alphabet’s second-quarter revenue rose 24% year over year and cloud revenue grew 82%, but the share price plunged after the earnings report because it raised its 2026 capital expenditure outlook to the $195 billion to $205 billion range, and free cash flow turned negative (-$5.9 billion).

Tesla’s revenue rose 26% year over year to $28.24B, but operating profit plunged 57%, and the profit margin was only 1.4%. Combined with a 142% year-over-year surge in capital expenditure, the stock was down about 14% on Thursday, making it the biggest decliner among the seven giants. In the same period, OpenAI, AMD, SpaceX, and others continued to ramp up the race in computing power and chip investment.