AFP: Oil prices jumped 4% Thursday after Iran vowed not to reopen the Strait of Hormuz so long as a US naval blockade remained in place despite a ceasefire extension.
At around 8.25 am, the benchmark US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed 4.06% to US$96.73 per barrel. International oil benchmark Brent North Sea crude rose 3.62% to US$105.63. Both eased back in the following minutes. Oil prices have soared since Israel and the US attacked Iran on Feb 28, and they have kept inching up due to the uncertainty over whether war will resume.
As the clock ticked for a return to the war that has engulfed the region, US President Donald Trump had said Tuesday he would maintain the truce to allow more time for Pakistani-brokered peace talks. Iran said it welcomed the efforts by Pakistan but made no other comment on Trump’s announcement.
Wall Street stocks gained ground following President Trump’s unilateral ceasefire extension in the Iran war. All three major US stock indexes advanced, with tech shares helping to put the Nasdaq out front, while gold advanced and the dollar edged higher.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq reached record closing highs.”Despite the energy shock and headlines that have inundated investors, the macroeconomy, corporate fundamentals, and consumer spending remain strong,” said Bill Merz, head of capital markets research at US Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis. “Investors are taking the stance that the Strait of Hormuz will open before too much damage is inflicted on the global economy.”Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized two vessels for maritime violations just hours after Trump agreed to extend the ceasefire until negotiations are concluded. About a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies normally pass through the strait.
US stocks, initially battered by the war, have since made a full recovery, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq having reached all-time closing highs in recent sessions. But geopolitical uncertainty lingers, and a prolonged period of elevated oil prices remains a threat. About two-thirds of the S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly earnings since the beginning of April have voiced concerns about energy prices in their analyst conference calls, according to a Reuters review of transcripts.
“Anytime there’s a global event like the conflict in the Middle East, and it grabs so many headlines and captures attention, it will crop up in earnings commentary,” Merz added. “But we’re not seeing it significantly impact behaviour yet.”First-quarter earnings season is well underway amid lofty expectations. Analysts currently estimate year-on-year S&P 500 earnings growth of 14.4% for the January-March period, according to the most recent LSEG data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 341.27 points, or 0.69%, to 49,490.52, the S&P 500 +gained 73.90 points, or 1.05%, to 7,137.91, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 397.60 points, or 1.64%, to 24,657.57.
European shares ended lower for the third straight session as the Middle East strife continued to weigh on markets and investors assessed a raft of corporate earnings.
Dozens of international firms have withdrawn guidance or signalled price hikes since the war began.MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe rose 4.52 points, or 0.42%, to 1,070.98. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.35%, while Europe’s broad FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 8.58 points, or 0.35%. Emerging market stocks fell 9.41 points, or 0.58%, to 1,606.07.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed lower by 0.6%, to 822.27, while Japan’s Nikkei .N225 rose 236.69 points, or 0.40%, to 59,585.86. The dollar rose amid lingering geopolitical worries. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.26% to 98.63, with the euro down 0.32% at $1.1704.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.12% to 159.56.In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin gained 4.13% to $78,866.74. Ethereum rose 3.48% to $2,398.37. US Treasury yields increased, rangebound amid choppy trading. The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes rose 1.2 basis points to 4.304%, from 4.292% late on Tuesday. The 30-year bond yield rose 1.1 basis points to 4.9091% from 4.898% late on Tuesday.
The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, rose 2.1 basis points to 3.8%, from 3.779% late on Tuesday.
