{"id":43237,"date":"2026-04-22T10:40:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T10:40:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=43237"},"modified":"2026-04-22T10:40:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T10:40:51","slug":"markets-shrug-at-trumps-iran-ceasefire-extension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=43237","title":{"rendered":"Markets shrug at Trump’s Iran ceasefire extension"},"content":{"rendered":"

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US President Donald Trump speaks during the NCAA Collegiate National Champions Day event at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 21, 2026. <\/p>\n

Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Donald Trump’s announcement that the ceasefire with Iran would continue<\/a> for talks damped anxiety that the U.S. was about to resume strikes, but investors largely reacted with a shrug.<\/p>\n

Asian stocks<\/a> were mixed overnight, while European markets<\/a> traded slightly higher and U.S. equity futures<\/a> pointed to marginal gains.<\/p>\n

International benchmark Brent crude and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures whipsawed on Trump’s announcement<\/a>, 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. <\/p>\n

“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 \u2014 and now it’s on to turn the next page,” said Brian Stutland, CIO at Equity Armor Investments, told “Squawk Box Asia” on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Back to fundamentals <\/h2>\n
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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. <\/p>\n

But global equities have already reclaimed pre-war levels<\/a>, with the MSCI World Index erasing a 3.29% post-conflict slump to trade nearly 2% above its March 2 close, the first session after hostilities broke out, as investors rushed to unwind geopolitical risk hedges even as the conflict remains unresolved. <\/p>\n

“Markets perceive that the worst-case scenarios in this war are probably over,” Ray Farris, chief economist for Eastspring Investments, told “Squawk Box Asia,” as investors had expected Trump to find a way to extend the ceasefire. <\/p>\n

“What we’re doing now is taking out all of those left-tail, worst-case, oil-at-$200-a-barrel risks, shifting the distribution of prices back and refocusing on earnings,” said Farris.<\/p>\n

Grace Peters, co-head of global investment strategy at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, told “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday that investors are “going back to thinking about fundamentals” and “the bar for re-engaging with the conflict” has been raised.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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