Donald Trump’s announcement that the ceasefire with Iran would continue for talks damped anxiety that the U.S. was about to resume strikes, but investors largely reacted with a shrug.
Asian stocks were mixed overnight, while European markets traded slightly higher and U.S. equity futures pointed to marginal gains.
International benchmark Brent crude and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures whipsawed on Trump’s announcement, trading at $99.81 and $90.86 per barrel, respectively, as of 4:52 a.m. ET, as the prices remained elevated on the president’s insistence that a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz stay in place.
“What the market is really doing is trying to look past what’s going on in Iran and saying this situation is going to slowly resolve itself. It may take some time, but we’re getting closer and closer towards the end rather than the beginning — and now it’s on to turn the next page,” said Brian Stutland, CIO at Equity Armor Investments, told “Squawk Box Asia” on Wednesday.
The Strait of Hormuz remains closed and, as long as it remains so, continues to severely restrict oil supply, thereby lifting inflationary pressures and weighing on global growth prospects.
