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US Oil Update: Crude Rises as Hormuz Closure, Fragile Ceasefire Stokes Supply Fears

Crude oil futures settled higher in after-hours trading on Thursday in a volatile session as Iranian missile attacks in Kuwait and limited tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz failed to allay fears of further supply disruptions amid a fragile US-Iran ceasefire.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 3.78% to $97.98 per barrel, while Brent futures were up 2.30% to $96.70/bbl.Kuwait said Thursday that it intercepted drone attacks and that some vital facilities were targeted.Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy, meanwhile, said the nation's oil production capacity has been cut by about 600,000 barrels per day due to Iranian attacks on energy infrastructure following the outbreak of the Middle East conflict.Fueling bullish sentiment, President Trump said on Thursday that Iran should stop charging tolls to vessels transiting the Hormuz, as traffic via the strategic waterway remains largely constrained despite a ceasefire deal that included an agreement to open it."There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait," Trump said in a Truth Social post. "They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!"On Thursday, the head of the UAE energy giant Adnoc said Hormuz was still closed and that Iran is restricting passage via the strategic waterway.Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Adnoc's managing director and group CEO, said an estimated 230 vessels were currently loaded with oil and ready to sail, but faced uncertainty over transit.The IMO also estimated that about 2,000 vessels, including oil and gas tankers, bulk carriers, and cargo ships, are currently stranded in the Arabian Gulf, along with around 20,000 seafarers.In an earlier post on Thursday, Trump said that US military forces will remain deployed in the Middle East until Iran fully complies with the "real agreement," noting that any breach would trigger a military campaign larger than anything seen before."All US ships, aircraft, and military personnel...will remain in place in, and around, Iran, until the real agreement reached is fully complied with," Trump said in a social media post on Truth Social.However, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said negotiations to resolve the Middle East conflict make no sense following ceasefire violations of three clauses of the proposed ceasefire.US Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead an American delegation in talks with Iran in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, on Saturday, while Tehran's delegation is due to arrive on Thursday, Iran's ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, said in a post on X.

TD Synnex Insider Sold Shares Worth $605,424, According to a Recent SEC Filing

Miriam Anne Murphy, President, Europe, on April 09, 2026, sold 3,025 shares in TD Synnex (SNX) for $605,424. Following the Form 4 filing with the SEC, Murphy has control over a total of 10,820 common shares of the company, with 10,820 shares held directly.SEC Filing:https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1177394/000117739426000033/xslF345X05/wk-form4_1775770070.xml

$SNX

US Markets7d ago

Nasdaq, S&P 500 Extend Winning Streak as Truce Remains Intact

The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 posted their seventh straight day of gains as a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran appeared to remain on track.The Nasdaq closed 0.8% higher at 22,822.4, its highest close since Feb. 26 -- two days before the US-Israel war with Iran started. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to 6,824.7.The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6% to settle at 48,185.8, advancing for a second consecutive session.Barring energy and health care, all sectors were in the green, led by consumer discretionary's 2.5% rise.Officials from Washington and Tehran are expected to meet this weekend in Pakistan, which helped broker the truce.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country would negotiate with Lebanon on disarming Hezbollah, CNN reported Thursday. Iranian state media previously reported that transit through the Strait of Hormuz was halted following Israeli attacks on Lebanon.Oil prices jumped, with West Texas Intermediate crude last up 4.9% at $99.06 per barrel. The benchmark hit up to $102.70 per barrel earlier in the session as shipment activity through the Strait of Hormuz remained restricted. Brent crude climbed 2.4% to $96.99 per barrel.The rebound in oil prices follows the sharpest one-day pullback since 2020 in the previous session following the ceasefire announcement."With a full reopening of the strait unlikely in the near term, oil prices are expected to remain supported, as disruptions linked to reduced output and refinery shutdowns will take time to unwind," ING Bank said in a note.US Treasury yields were declining, with the 10-year rate down 1.5 basis points at 4.29% and the two-year rate falling 2.1 basis points at 3.77%.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.The US economy expanded at a slower rate in the fourth quarter than previously projected, as consumer spending growth decelerated, the Bureau of Economic Analysis' third estimate showed Thursday."The downward revision to (fourth-quarter) GDP is not a major concern, as it was driven by the volatile inventory component," Oxford Economics Chief US Economist Michael Pearce said in remarks e-mailed to. "Gross domestic income -- a better gauge of underlying activity -- and gross domestic output of private business showed the core of the economy was still expanding at a healthy pace at the end of last year."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 rose 3.5%, while Meta gained 2.6%.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 nearly 12%, while Ares was virtually flat.Brown-Forman (BF.A, BF.B) was approached by Sazerac about a potential transaction amid ongoing discussions with French spirits company Pernod Ricard, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company's class B shares surged nearly 13%, the top gainer on the S&P 500, while its A shares soared 11%.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 fell 1.3%, among the worst performers on the Dow.Gold was last up 0.4% at $4,795.80 per troy ounce, while silver advanced 0.6% to $76.84 per ounce.

$^DJI$^IXIC$^SPX$ARES$BF.A$BF.B$CRWV$CVX$META$WSR

Asia Markets7d ago

TSX Closer: The Index Falls For The First Time In Seven Sessions

The Toronto Stock Exchange closed lower on Thursday, the first drop in seven sessions, on some profit taking, but also on wariness around continuing geopolitical tensions across the Middle East and lingering concerns around inflation with a recent spike in oil prices seen adding to existing tariff-related pressures on global economies.The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 142.86 points, or 0.4%, to 33,477.71, even as losses were capped with the Battery Metals Index up 4.5%. Losers were led down by Telecom, down near 3.4%, and Info Tech down near 2.1% as stock pickers weigh inflation risks and Fed minutes showed officials are open to rate hikes if inflation stays above target. Tech stocks are sensitive to interest rate changes due to their reliance on high capital spending. Higher interest rates increase borrowing costs, and could curb investment in innovation and expansion.RBC Economics, in featured analysis on the United States, noted it has been just over one year since 'Liberation Day', when the U.S. administration announced sweeping tariffs on all trade partners to reduce imbalances. But, RBC said, the trade deficit has not narrowed while trade has been diverted.At present, RBC added, all eyes are focused on a new shock: The conflict in the Middle East, which has sent oil prices soaring to near-2022 highs when Russia invaded Ukraine. "Still," the bank said, "beneath the surface, the ramifications of tariffs are building, and spiking oil prices will add to pre-existing tariff price pressures with both core and headline inflation rising in tandem."In a separate, related but more positive note for Canadians, RBC noted a rebalancing in travel from this country continues as U.S. cross border trips decline amid Canadian anger stemming from the U.S. targeting of certain industries here for tariffs and by President Trump calling Canada the 51st state .RBC added a sustained pullback in trips to the United States is increasingly being offset by rising travel to other destinations within Canada as well as abroad. The bank noted travel to the U.S. fell 25.4% in 2025 to 29.1-million trips with weakness persisting into early 2026. Dollars that might have been spent abroad are being recycled domestically with total tourism spending up 1.7% in 2025.RBC also noted the shift kept Canada as a net exporter of travel services in 2025 as spending stayed closer to home, and that tourism GDP grew 4.8% in Q4, outpacing a broader economy that contracted 0.6%, marking the third consecutive quarter of outperformance.Of commodities, West Texas Intermediate closed higher Thursday as Iran continues to block the Strait of Hormuz. WTI did fall off session highs after Israel said it will begin talks with Lebanon. Iran had maintained a two-week ceasefire agreement reached with the U.S. did include a pledge to halt Israeli attacks on Lebanon. WTI crude oil for May delivery closed up $3.46 to settle at US$97.87 per barrel after touching US$102.70 earlier. June Brent oil was last seen up $0.96 to US$95.71.Gold traded higher by midafternoon Thursday as the dollar weakened after the United States reported a key inflation measure rose, and while the U.S. and Iran argued over the terms of their two-week ceasefire deal. Gold for May delivery was up $36.10 to US$4,813.30 per ounce.

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Financial News

US Oil Update: Crude Rises as Hormuz Closure, Fragile Ceasefire Stokes Supply Fears

TD Synnex Insider Sold Shares Worth $605,424, According to a Recent SEC Filing

US Oil Update: Crude Rises as Hormuz Closure, Fragile Ceasefire Stokes Supply Fears

TD Synnex Insider Sold Shares Worth $605,424, According to a Recent SEC Filing

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