President Trump extends Strait of Hormuz opening deadline to April 6
President Trump said that he will give Iran another 10 days to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, postponing the strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure that he had threatened last weekend. Markets have been broadly muted on the deadline delay, however, with oil up moderately and stocks slightly in the red in early trading Friday.
Not long after markets closed Thursday, the president posted on Truth Social that he will pause “Energy Plant destruction” for 10 days until Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET, at the request of the Iranian government, adding that talks are “going very well.” Iranian mediators told The Wall Street Journal that they hadn’t requested the delay. Oil prices fell briefly on the news but snapped back within minutes, with Brent crude futures now up 2% to $110 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude also up 2% to around $96 a barrel.
Global stock markets are mixed with uncertainty around any actual ceasefire prospects: Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s KOSPI both closed around 0.4% lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.4% on Friday. Meanwhile, Europe’s STOXX 600 is down 0.9% this morning, with other major indexes across the region also lower. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures are down 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively, at 7 a.m. ET.
This marks the president’s second pause on his threat to bomb Iranian energy infrastructure, following the first five-day pause on Monday, which triggered a sharp market reaction, jolting stocks higher and sending oil below $100 a barrel.
Early on Thursday, Trump said in a Truth Social post that Iranian negotiators “better get serious soon, before it is too late,” and later told his Cabinet that Iran needed to make a deal or the US would “just keep blowing them away.” All three major US indexes fell on Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite officially entering correction territory.
Washington is reportedly weighing sending up to 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East in the coming days, according to reporting from the WSJ and Axios, with the Pentagon reportedly developing military options for a “final blow” in Iran amid the ongoing negotiations.
This marks the president’s second pause on his threat to bomb Iranian energy infrastructure, following the first five-day pause on Monday, which triggered a sharp market reaction, jolting stocks higher and sending oil below $100 a barrel.
Early on Thursday, Trump said in a Truth Social post that Iranian negotiators “better get serious soon, before it is too late,” and later told his Cabinet that Iran needed to make a deal or the US would “just keep blowing them away.” All three major US indexes fell on Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite officially entering correction territory.
Washington is reportedly weighing sending up to 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East in the coming days, according to reporting from the WSJ and Axios, with the Pentagon reportedly developing military options for a “final blow” in Iran amid the ongoing negotiations.
