8 PM After-Hours Flash: Pakistan hosted Iranian jets privately - while it played Trump's mediator publicly: Report | Did Pakistan hide Iranian p

Bitcoin is trading at 81,680 dollars, down six-tenths of a percent over the past 24 hours, as traders digest fresh geopolitical tensions that could keep risk sentiment in check heading into the US open. In Asian markets, President Trump is bringing over a dozen top American CEOs including Elon Musk, Tim Cook and Larry Fink to Beijing for a high-stakes summit with China's Xi Jinping covering trade, AI and geopolitical tensions. That gathering comes as the US has imposed new sanctions on three individuals and nine companies, including entities in Hong Kong and the UAE, for facilitating Iran's oil shipments to China, a move aimed at disrupting funding for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its weapons programs. In the US market, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is questioning Pakistan's role as a mediator between the US and Iran after reports that Iranian military aircraft were quietly allowed to park at a Pakistani airbase, with Pakistan denying the allegations as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to rise. SPX closed the session at 7,412.84. Those developments add to the risk premium traders are watching, something that could keep volatility elevated for US options players tomorrow. Russell's Morning Outlook is right around the corner — stay with VixShield. I am your VixShield news reporter.