The naval blockade taking effect this afternoon targets Iranian ports specifically, but the mechanism that could sustain a lasting risk premium is Washington's 20% toll demand on the shipping Canada never sends through the strait in the first place.

Friday's close left the index within 0.9% of its June 17 high. Tuesday's US inflation data, Wednesday's Bank of Canada decision, and Warsh's first Congressional testimony now land inside a single 48 hour window, against a backdrop of oil already up more than 4% Monday.

A fourth wave of US strikes and Iran's retaliation against Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan pushed Brent above 79 dollars Monday. Whether this is the escalation that finally sustains a Hormuz disruption or another cycle the market fades within weeks depends on data the headlines are not capturing.

The TSX gained 0.76% Thursday to 35,200, led by gold miners and the banks, even as the Iran conflict widened to two new countries. Why a U.S. chip rally and easing bond yields did the real work, and what a five-week, 613-point trading range says about Canadian equity exposure.

Iran's strikes reached Qatar and Jordan for the first time this week, yet WTI eased for a second straight day. Why the actual tail risk for Canadian energy exposure is not the headline count of countries involved, but a genuine halt in Hormuz shipping.

A single Iran headline pushed oil up and bond yields up at the same time, splitting the index into a clear winner and a clear group of losers underneath a headline decline of just under one percent.

Twelve major asset classes moved on Wednesday, and the direction split cleanly along exposure to the conflict. Professional analysts call it a downgrade in confidence, not a resolved crisis.

WTI's jump to $74.35 lifted Methanex, South Bow, and ARC Resources more than 4% while HudBay Minerals and Energy Fuels fell over 6%, a split that says more about currency and sub-sector mechanics than about the price of oil itself.

A sanctions snapback that one specialist says may end the US-Iran agreement has already added more than $5 to WTI, and the Canadian portfolio question is whether this is a contained escalation or the start of the truce's collapse.

Energy and materials led Monday's pullback in Toronto while AI-driven buying pushed the Dow to a record close in New York. Tuesday's shipping attack in the Strait of Hormuz has barely moved oil, leaving Canadian energy names to open into the same soft price that pressured them Monday.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired on two commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz hours after a one week de-escalation arrangement expired. WTI is still trading near a four month low. That gap between the event and the price is the story.

Physical shipping through the strait has already caught up to what this morning's Geopolitical piece called a lagging recovery, but a fresh OPEC+ supply increase, not the August toll dispute, is what pulled Canadian energy names down today.

The TSX closed in on a record high, but the sector leadership behind the move signals a rate story, not an oil story.

WTI has round-tripped back to its pre-war level, but physical flow through the strait sits at about half of pre-conflict volume, and an unresolved toll dispute is the mechanism that could reopen the gap.

The US economy added 57,000 jobs in June against a 110,000 consensus, and Thursday's market reaction split cleanly along risk lines. The TSX edged higher on gold miner strength while the S&P 500 closed mixed. WTI held near $68.56. The week's defining move was not in equities. It was in the Fed probability strip.

US-Iran indirect talks in Doha concluded Wednesday with 'positive progress' but no breakthrough. Negotiations are now formally paused until after Khamenei's six-day funeral procession ends July 9. The pause is not a setback. It is the period during which the oil market will price the next round's probability of success.