| 🔔 BEFORE THE BELL: U.S. equity markets are facing downward pressure this morning, with Dow futures falling 163 points (0.4%), S&P 500 futures down 28 points (0.4%), and Nasdaq 100 futures dropping 124 points (0.5%). Risk-off sentiment is being driven by escalating tensions in the Middle East as several U.S. allies, including Germany and Japan, rejected calls to aid in reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Consequently, oil prices remain elevated above $100 per barrel. Meanwhile, Gold is holding a range between $5,000 and $5,200/oz as traders look ahead to tomorrow’s Federal Reserve decision. Tech investors are focused on Nvidia, where CEO Jensen Huang projected a massive $1 trillion in AI chip sales by the end of 2027, fueled by new 350x faster inference servers. | 
