Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum Friday demanding Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The missing US pilot search intensified as Tehran called on citizens to find the "enemy pilot". Oil traders remained wrongfooted by crisis scale with Brent crude surging 60% in March marking the biggest monthly gain since 1988.
Gulf states revisited plans for new pipelines bypassing the strait per FT reporting. The infrastructure would replicate Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline despite massive cost. Energy rationing spread from Bangladesh to Zambia as governments cut fuel demand.
Asia-Pacific markets plunged as Trump's war speech stoked escalation fears. The dollar rose against peers on renewed Middle East concerns. Chinese government bonds emerged as the lone war haven with yields down marginally while other major economies saw rising rates.
India's central bank blocked non-deliverable derivatives in the onshore market making it harder to short the rupee. Gold dropped on stronger dollar and rising rate bets despite earlier haven demand.
BOOT Boot Barn crashed 9.4% despite raising guidance and expanding store growth plans. PINS Pinterest faced securities class action deadline May 29. NuScale Power investors battled April 20 filing deadline.
European stocks posted their worst month since 2022 as conflict dragged on. UK bank capital rules faced criticism as growth drag intensified.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
