FN2 Research

Markets, explained.

Cited, no-noise breakdowns of why stocks move — earnings reactions, macro shifts, and the data behind the headlines.

A cargo ship docked at an industrial port
Geopolitics · Energy · Shipping · Bonds · Market Risk

Hormuz Traffic Falls Below Average as Crude Nears $92 and Bond Yields Surge

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains below its recent average as Brent approaches $92 and long-duration bond yields surge. The cross-asset signal is a persistent logistics and inflation risk, not merely a geopolitical headline.

Financial analyst workstation displaying market data during a trading session.
Markets · Macro · Technology · Semiconductors · Energy

The Market Is Broadening—But Rates and Chips Still Set the Terms

The midday tape is broadening beyond mega-cap technology, but firm long-term yields, oil, and semiconductor weakness make this a rotation test rather than a clean risk-on signal.

Glass commercial facade representing the public-market venue and corporate access behind new equity listings.
IPOs · Market Structure · Liquidity · Volatility · Buybacks

IPO supply is back. The market’s plumbing is about to be tested.

U.S. equity issuance is recovering, but IPO counts tell only half the story. Lockup releases, buybacks, volatility and evolving Regulation NMS rules will determine whether new supply meets durable demand.

Aerial view of a cargo ship navigating a strategic maritime channel
Geopolitics · Energy · Oil · Rates · Shipping · Market Risk

Hormuz Is Open—But the Market Is Pricing It as Unreliable

The Strait of Hormuz may be technically open while remaining commercially unreliable. Depressed vessel traffic, firmer energy equities, and higher long-dated yields show how a shipping chokepoint is becoming an inflation and financing risk.

Stock-market data displayed on a mobile trading screen
Market Pulse · AI · Technology · Macro · Semiconductors · Bonds

NASDAQ Is One of the Cleanest Tells in the Opening Snapshot: The AI Trade Meets the Bond Market

NASDAQ is one of the cleanest tells in the opening snapshot: Tuesday’s selloff separated AI- and rate-sensitive technology from energy and financials. The market is testing AI capital discipline against higher yields, oil risk, and a still-contained credit backdrop.

A market participant reviews stock-market data on a tablet.
IPOs · Market Structure · Liquidity · Buybacks · Volatility

The IPO Window Is Open—But Liquidity Is the Real Test

First-half 2026 equity issuance is strong, but the durability of the IPO recovery depends on aftermarket liquidity, net share supply, and evolving market-structure rules.

Oil tanker transiting open water as geopolitical tensions disrupt a major energy shipping route
Geopolitics · Energy · Bonds · Inflation · Market Risk

Hormuz Risk Is Moving From Oil Tankers Into Government Bonds

The latest U.S.-Iran stalemate is showing up beyond crude: tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed, energy prices have rallied, and long-dated sovereign yields have climbed. The market is now pricing the duration of the disruption—not just the headline risk of another attack.

A financial trading graph showing candlestick and line charts.
IPOs · Market Structure · Liquidity · Volatility · Equity Capital Markets

IPO Supply Is Back—but Liquidity Is the Real Test

U.S. IPO proceeds have rebounded sharply in 2026, but deal count and aftermarket performance remain uneven. The next test is whether lockups, secondaries, buybacks, and evolving market-structure rules can support orderly liquidity.

Cargo operations at a major shipping terminal, representing the maritime energy trade exposed to Strait of Hormuz disruption.
Geopolitics · Energy · Oil · Market Risk · Inflation

Hormuz Risk Premium Returns to Oil as Diplomacy Stalls

Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has reportedly fallen to single digits as U.S.–Iran diplomacy stalls, putting a geopolitical supply premium back into crude and energy equities.

Industrial power infrastructure representing the energy demands of new artificial intelligence data centers
Market Pulse · AI · Semiconductors · Macro · Technology

The Market Is Testing AI’s Cost of Capital, Not Abandoning Its Demand Story

Tuesday’s market split put AI’s cost of capital alongside its demand story. Technology and semiconductors fell as yields and oil risk rose, while company disclosures still showed strong cloud demand and an accelerating infrastructure buildout.

Electronic market screen displaying changing stock prices and trading data
IPOs · Market Structure · Liquidity · Volatility · Exchanges

The IPO Window Is Open—But Market Plumbing Will Decide Who Gets Through It

The 2026 IPO market has reopened in headline terms, but the breadth and durability of that reopening remain unsettled. Issuance concentration, first-week dispersion, lockup supply, buyback offsets, and exchange-auction rules are the market-structure variables to watch next.

Cargo ship and tugboats moving through coastal waters near a major maritime trade route.
Geopolitics · Oil · Shipping · Inflation · Rates · Market Risk

Hormuz Shipping Slowdown Turns an Iran Standoff Into an Oil-and-Rates Shock

Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed after reported attacks as U.S.-Iran talks stall. The market is repricing oil, inflation and rates around a physical logistics risk that could matter more than the headlines if it persists.