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Market Chatter: Trump Signals Confidence on Iran Talks Despite Strait Disruptions

US President Donald Trump said Thursday he is "very optimistic" about a potential peace deal with Iran as talks begin, despite a fragile ceasefire and shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz, NBC News reported.Trump said Iranian officials are "much more reasonable" in negotiations, noting they are showing willingness to meet key conditions, while warning that failure to reach an agreement would have serious consequences.A US team led by Vice President J D Vance is set to travel to Pakistan for key negotiations in Islamabad aimed at resolving the nearly six-week-long conflict.The ceasefire is under pressure as Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon continue, leading Trump to call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reduce military activity, the report added, citing two senior administration officials.Trump said he had spoken with Netanyahu, who reportedly told Trump, "he's going to low-key it." Vance also suggested Israel may scale back its actions during the ongoing offensive, according to the report.Netanyahu said Israel will continue targeting Hezbollah, stating he insisted the ceasefire "not include Hezbollah," while also signaling openness to direct negotiations with Lebanon.European leaders have urged that Lebanon be included in the limited ceasefire, according to the report.Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited, with only five vessels crossing on Wednesday, the first day of the truce and none carrying oil or gas, raising doubts about whether flows are truly resuming, the report added.As of midday Thursday, two vessels had crossed the strait.(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

Global Ship Lease Insider Sold Shares Worth $296,227, According to a Recent SEC Filing

Georgios Giannopoulos, Chief Compliance Officer, on April 07, 2026, sold 7,692 shares in Global Ship Lease (GSL) for $296,227. Following the Form 4 filing with the SEC, Giannopoulos has control over a total of 142,308 Class A common shares of the company, with 142,308 shares held directly.SEC Filing:https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1430725/000114036126014005/xslF345X05/form4.xml

$GSL

Dorian Lpg Insider Sold Shares Worth $355,040, According to a Recent SEC Filing

John Lycouris, Director, Head of Energy Transition, on April 08, 2026, sold 10,000 shares in Dorian Lpg (LPG) for $355,040. Following the Form 4 filing with the SEC, Lycouris has control over a total of 357,939 common shares of the company, with 157,939 shares held directly and 200,000 controlled indirectly.SEC Filing:https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1596993/000091957426002140/xslF345X05/ownership.xml

$LPG

US Markets7d ago

Equities Rise Intraday as US-Iran Ceasefire Holds Amid Hormuz Uncertainty

US benchmark equity indexes were higher intraday as a recent two-week ceasefire between Washington and Iran appeared to be holding, though oil prices rebounded as access to the Strait of Hormuz remained restricted.The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite were up 0.8% each at 48,279.5 and 22,811.7, respectively, after midday Thursday. The S&P 500 added 0.7% to 6,829. Barring energy, all sectors were in the green, led by consumer discretionary.West Texas Intermediate crude was up 2.3% at $96.54 a barrel intraday. The benchmark hit up to $102.70 a barrel earlier in the session. Brent crude edged up 0.6% to $94.96 per barrel.The rebound in oil prices follows the sharpest one-day pullback since 2020 in the previous session as the US and Iran agreed to temporarily halt hostilities that had gripped the Middle East since the end of February."The Strait of Hormuz is not open," Abu Dhabi National Oil Chief Executive Sultan Al Jaber said in a LinkedIn post Thursday. "Access is being restricted, conditioned and controlled."Iranian state media previously reported that transit through the strait was halted following Israeli attacks on Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country would negotiate with Lebanon on disarming Hezbollah, CNN reported Thursday."We continue to contend that actual transit levels through the waterway will remain significantly depressed given that Iran is insisting vessels must coordinate with its military or face destruction," RBC Capital Markets said in a note.Officials from Washington and Tehran are expected to meet this weekend in Pakistan, which helped broker the truce.US Treasury yields were lower intraday, with the 10-year rate down two basis points at 4.27% and the two-year rate dropping 3.4 basis points to 3.76%.In economic news, US inflation accelerated sequentially in February as real consumer spending edged higher, with analysts expecting price pressures to intensify due to the spillover effects of the Middle East conflict.The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metric -- which excludes food and energy -- rose 0.4% month over month, unchanged from January's reading. Annual growth slowed to 3% from 3.1%. All inflation prints met estimates in Bloomberg-compiled surveys."With headline inflation likely to test 4% soon, there is little chance the Fed will ease policy in the near term," BMO Capital Markets said in a note.Weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US rose more than expected, while continuing claims reached the lowest level since May 2024, government data showed."The latest jobless claims data offer no evidence that the (US-Israel) war with Iran has had a notable impact on the labor market," Oxford Economics said in a note. "We don't think an upside surprise in one week is sending a signal that labor market conditions are softening."In company news, CoreWeave (CRWV) agreed to supply artificial intelligence cloud capacity to Meta Platforms (META) in a $21 billion deal as the companies expanded their partnership amid robust demand for infrastructure supporting AI workloads. CoreWeave shares were up 6.1% intraday, while Meta rose 3%.Ares Management (ARES) agreed to acquire and take private Whitestone REIT (WSR) in an all-cash deal worth about $1.7 billion. Whitestone shares jumped 11%, while Ares advanced 0.5%.Chevron (CVX) said it expected higher commodity prices driven by the Middle East conflict to boost first-quarter earnings in its upstream segment by up to $2.2 billion, though timing impacts could weigh on the oil giant's bottom line. The company's shares were down 1.4% intraday, among the worst performers on the Dow.Gold was up 0.9% at $4,819 per troy ounce, while silver advanced 1.5% to $76.49 per ounce.

$^DJI$^IXIC$^SPX$ARES$CRWV$CVX$META$WSR

US Markets7d ago

Weekly Jobless Claims Rise, Continuing Applications Reach Lowest Since May 2024

Weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US rose more than expected, while continuing claims reached the lowest level since May 2024, government data showed Thursday.For the week through April 4, the seasonally adjusted number of initial claims increased by 16,000 to 219,000 from the previous week's average that was adjusted upwards by 1,000, the Department of Labor said. The consensus was for a 210,000 reading in a Bloomberg poll.The four-week moving average totaled 209,500, up by 1,500 from the prior week's average that was revised higher by 250. Unadjusted claims rose by 16,637 to 202,895, the DOL said."The latest jobless claims data offer no evidence that the (US-Israel) war with Iran has had a notable impact on the labor market," Oxford Economics Lead US Economist Nancy Vanden Houten said in remarks e-mailed to. "We don't think an upside surprise in one week is sending a signal that labor market conditions are softening."Seasonally adjusted continuing claims for the week ended March 28 reached 1.79 million, the lowest level since May 11, 2024, and lagging Wall Street's expectations of 1.83 million. Continuing claims dropped by 38,000 from the previous week's level, which was revised down by 9,000, according to the DOL. The four-week moving average fell by 13,250 to about 1.82 million."Continued claims are trending lower, reflecting the general drift lower of initial claims since last fall," Vanden Houten said.Earlier this month, official data showed that the US economy added more jobs than expected in March, while the unemployment rate edged down to 4.3% from 4.4% sequentially.On Wednesday, minutes from the Federal Reserve's March meeting showed that monetary policymakers emphasized the need to remain "nimble" in adjusting interest rates in light of heightened risks to inflation and employment driven by the Iran war, which started at the end of February.On Tuesday, the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, though the truce appears fragile.

Financial News

Market Chatter: Trump Signals Confidence on Iran Talks Despite Strait Disruptions

Global Ship Lease Insider Sold Shares Worth $296,227, According to a Recent SEC Filing

Dorian Lpg Insider Sold Shares Worth $355,040, According to a Recent SEC Filing

Market Chatter: Trump Signals Confidence on Iran Talks Despite Strait Disruptions

Global Ship Lease Insider Sold Shares Worth $296,227, According to a Recent SEC Filing

Dorian Lpg Insider Sold Shares Worth $355,040, According to a Recent SEC Filing

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