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Oil flipped between gains and losses as traders weighed signs of rapidly depleting US reserves against efforts by the US and Iran to seek further talks to end a war that has brought transit through the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway to a near-halt.

West Texas Intermediate traded around $92 a barrel, roughly back to its level before peace negotiations broke down over the weekend, after losing almost 8% on Tuesday. Washington and Tehran are considering extending their ceasefire that ends on Tuesday by another two weeks to allow more time to negotiate a peace agreement, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Mark Mobius, who put emerging markets on investors’ radar with on-the-ground insights over more than four peripatetic decades, has died. He was 89.

He died today, according to a post on his LinkedIn page attributed to his spokeswoman, Kylie Wong. John Ninia, a partner at Mobius Investments, said he died in Singapore.

Copper edged lower as traders eyed the prospect of peace negotiations between the US and Iran.

The US and Iran are considering extending their ceasefire that ends on Tuesday by another two weeks to allow more time to negotiate a peace agreement, according to a person familiar with the matter.

US markets extended their rally on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 hitting a fresh all-time high as investors bet on a potential end to the Iran conflict.

The benchmark index rose 0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.1%, marking its 10th straight session of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, slipped slightly.

Among individual stocks, Broadcom stood out, gaining 3% after extending its partnership with Meta Platforms on custom chip development.

Markets have been buoyed by optimism around possible U.S.-Iran talks, with recent comments from Donald Trump suggesting a deal may be in the works.

The rally has been steady, with the S&P 500 now up over 2% this week, as geopolitical hopes begin to outweigh recent uncertainty.

Midday trading saw a mixed bag of moves, with tech strength, insider confidence, and deal-related concerns driving individual stocks.

Nvidia continued its strong run, rising about 1% and heading for an 11th straight session of gains—its longest winning streak on record—as investors rotated back into technology stocks.

In contrast, Caterpillar dropped around 5% after reports of its acquisition of self-driving electric tractor firm Monarch Tractor, raising questions around deal implications.

Meanwhile, Nike climbed more than 3% following notable insider buying. CEO Elliott Hill and director Tim Cook disclosed share purchases worth over $2 million combined, signalling confidence in the company’s outlook.

The moves highlight how momentum, corporate actions, and insider signals continue to shape market direction.

Jefferies is turning bullish on Autodesk, arguing that fears around artificial intelligence disrupting its business are overblown.

The brokerage has initiated coverage with a “buy” rating and a $300 price target, implying over 30% upside from current levels. The call comes even as Autodesk’s stock has fallen more than 19% this year amid broader concerns about AI reshaping the software industry.

Jefferies believes the selloff has created an opportunity. It points to Autodesk’s strong fundamentals, including double-digit growth, high margins of around 38%, and a capital-light business model.

Crucially, the firm argues that Autodesk’s specialised design platforms and proprietary data in architecture, engineering and construction create a durable competitive moat—one that emerging AI tools are unlikely to disrupt easily.

In short, Jefferies sees a mispriced stock rather than a broken business.

Wells Fargo has turned more optimistic on CRH, arguing that recent weakness in the stock may be overdone.

The bank upgraded its view after previously downgrading the company earlier in 2026, pointing to resilient demand in Europe and growth potential from acquisitions. Analysts said concerns around CRH’s recent underperformance do not fully reflect underlying business strength.

A key driver is CRH’s acquisition of Eco Material, which is expected to support expansion in the materials segment. Wells Fargo also highlighted the company’s strong free cash flows and consistent execution on past deals as reasons for confidence.

Importantly, the bank believes the market is underestimating CRH’s ability to continue generating growth through mergers and acquisitions, while also returning capital to shareholders.

With a price target of $135, the message is clear: the market may be missing the bigger picture.

US President Donald Trump has signalled that the Iran conflict may be nearing its end, even as negotiations remain uncertain.

In an interview, Trump said the war is “very close to over” and claimed Iran is eager to strike a deal after suffering heavy military setbacks. His remarks come amid growing optimism in global markets that diplomacy could prevail, despite last weekend’s failed talks.

Reports suggest a possible extension of the fragile ceasefire to allow more negotiations, though US officials say no formal agreement has been reached yet. Discussions between Washington and Tehran are ongoing, with another round of talks potentially imminent.

Trump also downplayed market volatility triggered by the conflict, predicting oil prices would ease and equities would rally once the war ends.

For now, markets appear caught between two forces—geopolitical uncertainty and rising hopes that a diplomatic breakthrough may be closer than it seems.

European markets turned negative on Wednesday, as investors weighed the uncertain trajectory of the US-Iran conflict alongside hopes of renewed peace talks.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index slipped about 0.4%, dragged down largely by sharp declines in luxury stocks. Kering led the losses, plunging over 8% after weak Gucci sales and a drop in Middle East revenues.

Hermès also fell sharply, hit by currency headwinds that shaved nearly €290 million off revenues. The weakness spread across the sector, pulling down LVMH and Christian Dior.

The decline comes despite positive cues from global markets, where easing oil prices and tentative diplomatic signals had lifted sentiment earlier.

A potential second round of US-Iran talks is under discussion, but with no concrete timeline, investors remain cautious—caught between fragile optimism and persistent geopolitical risk.

Finding a safe place for money is getting harder in today’s volatile markets. According to UBS, traditional safe havens are no longer offering consistent protection during market stress.

The bank analysed recent “risk-off” episodes, including the tariff-led selloff in early 2025 and the oil shock in 2026. The results were striking. Assets that typically act as shock absorbers—like gold, the yen, the euro and government bonds—performed well in one phase but failed in the next.

In fact, even newer winners such as commodities and the trade-weighted dollar offered little protection across both periods.

This inconsistency leaves investors with few reliable hedges. The U.S. dollar comes closest to acting as a safe haven, but even that may not be entirely dependable, with recent strength partly driven by market positioning rather than pure flight-to-safety demand.

The takeaway is uncomfortable: diversification is getting harder just when investors need it most.

Software stocks took another leg higher on Wednesday, with the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF rising more than 3% and now positive by almost 10% on the week.

While the ETF fell more than 7% last week on fears about Anthropic’s new AI model Claude Mythos and how the technology will disrupt the software-as-a-service business model, a slew of names recovered this week.

The best performers on the Dow Jones Industrial Average in midday Wednesday trading were Microsoft and Salesforce, up nearly 4% and about 3%, respectively. Microsoft is now up 10% for the week, while Salesforce is up close to 7%.

Qatar’s finance minister warned of a bigger economic fallout from the Iran war over the coming months if the Strait of Hormuz isn’t reopened soon and trade remains restricted to countries reliant on everything from natural gas and fertilizers to helium.

During a question-and-answer session at the International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings in Washington on Wednesday, Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari said what the world had seen so far with higher energy costs is “the tip of the iceberg.”

“Full fledge impact is coming in one or two months,” he said. “You’ll see huge economic impact as a result of this war.”

The Trump administration is unlikely to issue a new a waiver allowing countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil as part of any efforts to tame high fuel prices, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.

“That was a broad-based reprieve,” Wright said Wednesday at an event held by the Wall Street Journal. “I don’t think you will see that extended.”

The US Treasury had issued the waiver in March, allowing for the sale of Russian crude stranded aboard tankers at sea as the war in Iran cut off supply from the Persian Gulf and sent prices surging. It expired on April 11.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is proposing a new tax on second homes in New York City worth at least $5 million as a way to raise cash for the city’s struggling budget.

“If you can afford a multi-million dollar second home in New York City, you can afford to join its residents in supporting the greatest city in the world,” Hochul said in a social media post Tuesday that provided few details of how the tax would be implemented.

The plan represents a compromise between the governor and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who, for months, has pushed Hochul to raise taxes on the wealthy and large corporations. The governor has repeatedly resisted such measures and didn’t include material hikes in her initial budget.

US homebuilders’ confidence fell to a seven-month low in April as the Iran war pushed up mortgage rates and materials costs at the start of the spring selling season.

An index of market conditions from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo declined four points to 34, according to data out on Wednesday. A value below 50 means more builders see conditions as poor than good. Measures of current and future sales both deteriorated.

The S&P 500 Index is on track to close at its first record since January, as traders bid up stocks amid optimism over the ceasefire between the US and Iran and robust corporate fundamentals.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.2% on Wednesday, surpassing its previous closing high of 6,978.60 points, with financials and technology sectors leading the advance. The 500-member gauge hovered near a technical correction zone in late March as the Iran war pushed up oil prices and inflation expectations.

The advance represents a stark turnaround for the gauge, which had fallen as much as 9.1% from its most recent peak. Technology companies Intel Corp. and Sandisk Corp. have gained at least 50% since the index’s March 30 low.

NOV Inc, one of the biggest US makers of oilfield gear, slashed its earnings guidance for the first quarter as the war in the Middle East raises costs and snarls equipment deliveries.

Safety and logistical problems from the conflict dented revenue by about $54 million and adjusted earnings by around $32 million, Chief Executive Officer Jose Bayardo said in a statement Wednesday.

The company now expects to report adjusted earnings of $177 million for the first quarter, down from its previous forecast of about $200 million to $225 million.

US equities edged higher on Wednesday (April 15), with major indexes posting modest gains as markets remained close to record territory.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite also advanced 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 157 points, or 0.3%.

In individual movers, Broadcom climbed 2% during the session. The gains came after Meta Platforms expanded its partnership with Broadcom to use its technology for custom chip development.

US President Donald Trump said he would fire Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve if he does not leave that post “in time,” and insisted that the Justice Department investigation into the central bank leader would continue.

“I’ll have to fire him, OK, if he’s not leaving on time. I’ve held back firing him. I’ve wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial,” Trump said in an interview with Fox Business.

“I want to be uncontroversial. But he will be fired,” he said in the interview that aired Wednesday.

Powell’s stint as the leader of the central bank expires in May, but his term on the Board of Governors does not end until 2028.

Accel, the venture capital firm that’s backed artificial intelligence companies including Anthropic, Cursor and Perplexity, has raised $5 billion in new funds to keep up its big bets in the age of increasingly valuable artificial intelligence startups.

The firm will dedicate $4 billion to its fifth Leaders fund, focused on writing large checks to late-stage startups around the world, Accel plans to announce Wednesday.

The firm also raised $650 million for a so-called sidecar fund, which gives limited partners extra exposure to Accel’s biggest investments by allowing it to selectively increase the size of certain bets, especially for investments in its existing portfolio, Accel partner Matt Weigand said.

New York state factory activity expanded in April at the strongest pace in five months, though firms’ views about the outlook and costs soured in the wake of the Iran war.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general business conditions index increased by 11.2 points to 11, figures issued Wednesday showed. Readings above zero indicate expansion. The survey reflected the strongest growth in orders and shipments since 2023.

However, the overall outlook for business conditions over the next six months deteriorated to a five-month low. A measure of expected input prices jumped 18.5 points, the most since 2011, to 61.6 as the conflict in the Middle East drove up the cost of oil and other industrial materials. An index of the outlook for prices received also increased, but moderately.

The US and Iran are closer to extending a ceasefire and restarting negotiations about a longer-term peace deal, the Associated Press reported, even as a standoff intensifies over the Strait of Hormuz.

The two sides have an “in principle agreement” to pursue further diplomacy after an inconclusive initial round of talks in Pakistan at the weekend, the AP said, citing regional officials it didn’t identify.

Mediators are pushing for a compromise on outstanding issues, including Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program, before the April 7 truce expires next week, the news agency said.

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