Weekly Highlights: With the standoff between the US and Iran escalating, the two straits are facing an emergency; Trump swings the tariff hammer again; tech giants wiped out $800 billion in a single day

Mars Finance news, on July 25, this week’s global markets were driven by four main lines: escalation of the US-Iran conflict, a cascade of additional US tariff measures, the yen exchange rate’s collapse, and worries about AI-related capital expenditures. Risk-off sentiment and policy disruptions intertwined: International oil prices became the biggest trading focus this week. The US military has continued to strike targets in Iran and the Houthis’ threats to Red Sea shipping persist. Brent crude rose above $100 per barrel for the first time in two months, and both oil products are set to close higher for the third consecutive week. The US dollar against the yen climbed to 163.98, the highest since November 1986. In US stocks, the Dow closed lower for the third straight week; the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed lower for the second straight week. Tesla plunged 14.5% on Thursday, down nearly 18% for the week, marking the biggest weekly drop since 2022. The tech “Magnificent Seven” saw their combined market value evaporate nearly $800B in a single day.

The US-Iran conflict has entered a new stage, with both straits in emergency. The US military has completed its 13th consecutive night of strikes on Iranian military targets and deployed B-1 bombers to strengthen attack capabilities. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, meanwhile, claimed it attacked US military facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan, as well as on Larak Island. Ongoing disruptions continue to block navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, the Houthis announced a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia and attacked two Saudi oil tankers, further spilling conflict risk into the Red Sea. US-Iran diplomatic efforts are still underway, but Iran has rejected a 10-day ceasefire proposal. The US believes Iran lacks sincerity in negotiations.

US tariffs were stepped up intensively within a week, impacting nearly 60 economies. The Trump administration took several actions this week: imposed a 50% tariff on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods (effective August 19); adjusted aluminum import tariff policy, setting investment incentives in exchange for preferential tax rates; announced that imported generic drugs will keep two years of zero tariffs, then phased in tariffs of 100% to 200% starting in 2028; added a 25% tariff on most Brazilian goods; and, citing that trade partners have not sufficiently banned forced-labor products, initiated Section 301 tariffs against 60 economies, replacing the temporary global tariffs due to expire that day, covering 99.4% of the total value of US imports. The yen fell below the 163 level, its lowest since 1986. Japan’s Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet Secretariat this week repeatedly signaled readiness to intervene at any time, but as of Friday there were no signs of actual market entry. The US Treasury’s semiannual currency report found the yen is significantly undervalued. Japan remains on the currency policy monitoring list, but is not classified as a currency manipulator.

AI capital expenditure worries dealt a heavy blow to tech stocks. Alphabet’s second-quarter revenue grew 24% year over year, and its cloud business rose 82%, but shares plunged after the earnings report because it raised its 2026 capital expenditure outlook to a range of $195 billion to $205 billion, and free cash flow turned negative (-$5.9 billion). Tesla’s revenue rose 26% year over year to $28.24B, but operating profit fell 57% sharply, with a profit margin of just 1.4%. Combined with a 142% year-over-year surge in capital expenditures, the stock dropped about 14% on Thursday, becoming the biggest decliner among the seven. In the same period, OpenAI, AMD, SpaceX, and others continued to ramp up the race for compute power and chip investment.