By Anna Szymanski
April 7 (Reuters) –
What matters in U.S. and global markets today
By Anna Szymanski, Editor-in-Charge, Reuters Open Interest
Markets are once again held in suspense as traders count down to President Donald Trump’s latest deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with global stocks mixed and oil prices choppy.
Tehran, for its part, has refused to reopen the vital waterway and accept a ceasefire deal, despite the U.S. president’s threats that Iran could be “taken out in one night”, leaving investors braced for the possibility that Trump’s latest combative warning could harden into action – or, on the other hand, lead to yet another deadline.
I’ll get into that and more below.
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FINAL COUNTDOWN?
As much of the financial world returned from the long holiday weekend on Tuesday, investors appeared to be in a wait-and-see mode with Trump’s latest deadline for Iran – 8 p.m. EDT tonight – drawing closer.
Oil prices moved around early on Tuesday, with Brent crude initially rising to over $111 per barrel before paring those gains. U.S. WTI crude is hovering around $113/bbl after briefly topping $116.
Equities also got off to a cautious start, with major Asian indexes largely flat, despite a lift in the mood early in the session after a record-breaking quarterly profit forecast from Samsung Electronics. European shares rose after the open.
Major U.S. indexes rose on Monday, partly because traders were heartened by reports of continued discussions about a potential ceasefire. While that optimism faded after Tehran rejected a short-term truce, mediation by Pakistan is reportedly continuing. U.S. stock futures were roughly flat before the bell.
The greenback dipped slightly but remained broadly firm, with the dollar index hovering just under the 100 level after hitting its highest level since May 2025 last week. The yen, on the other hand, continues to languish near the 160-per-dollar level.
Recent macro signals from the U.S. are adding a layer of complexity as traders mull the wider impacts of the Iran energy shock.
The latest survey results from the Institute for Supply Management, released on Monday, showed that U.S. services sector growth slowed in March while prices paid by businesses for inputs rose by the most in more than 13 years – an early sign of rising inflation pressures amid the war. For more on that front, we’ll have to wait for U.S. March CPI inflation figures set for release this Friday.
No matter what that release shows, the global economic outlook appears to be darkening, with the IMF warning on Monday that “all roads” lead to higher prices and slower growth, according to remarks made by its head, Kristalina Georgieva.
Ultimately, the big question – yet again – is whether Trump’s latest deadline will result in the conflict being ramped up or down. We’ll all have to wait and see.
Chart of the day
The world’s largest memory chipmaker today announced an estimated operating profit of 57.2 trillion won ($37.92 billion) for the January to March period, compared with an LSEG SmartEstimate of 40.6 trillion won and a more than eightfold jump from 6.69 trillion won a year earlier.
Today’s events to watch
* U.S. February durable goods (8:30 a.m. EDT)
* U.S. 3-year note auction (1:00 p.m. EDT)
* Fed’s Philip Jefferson, Chicago Fed’s Austan Goolsbee, and San Francisco Fed’s Mary Daly all speak
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Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
(By Anna Szymanski)
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