$META Is Down Bad and $VLO Is Living Its Best Life — War Does Weird Things to Stocks

$META is having the kind of week that makes you want to log off social media entirely — which, given the context, feels appropriate. Shares fell 8.1% after the company and Google were found liable in the first social media addiction trial, with a federal case in Northern California this summer and a second New Mexico trial phase in May still on the docket. Harvard Law professors are calling it a watershed moment. Wall Street called it a buying opportunity. The jury is still out on who's right — literally.

Meanwhile, $VLO rallied 5.8% to a record high after reports its Port Arthur refinery could restart some units following a Monday explosion, with broader energy stocks riding the Iran war wave. Brent crude is sitting above $108/barrel — up roughly 48% since late February — with Macquarie warning of $200/barrel if the Strait of Hormuz stays shut through June. Apollo's Torsten Slok thinks a Fed rate hike is still extremely unlikely despite markets now pricing a 42% probability by October, arguing an oil shock ultimately destroys demand more than it creates inflation.

Zuckerberg is getting sued into next week while oil refiners are printing money — sometimes the market's sense of humor is the only thing that makes sense.