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Five weeks into the United States-Israel-Iran conflict, and a fragile calm has settled over the Middle East, at least on paper.
On the night of April 7, just 90 minutes before the 8 PM ET deadline, U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to pause attacks on Iran, announcing what he called a "double-sided" ceasefire.
The deal, brokered by Pakistan, came with a critical condition that Iran had to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world's daily oil supply flows and which has been shut since the war began in late February.
Tehran agreed for two weeks, and only as long as all attacks remain halted. Iran's Foreign Minister confirmed the terms, and media reports indicated Israel had also signed on to the pause.
But the Strait has not fully reopened. Since the ceasefire announcement, only some bulk carriers carrying dry cargo have passed through the waterway. Oil tankers have yet to resume normal traffic, meaning the supply disruption that has rattled global energy markets for weeks is not over yet.
Trump made clear on April 9 that the U.S. military would remain deployed in and around Iran until Tehran fully complies with what he called the "real agreement," warning that any breach would trigger a military response larger than anything seen before.
Traditional markets turn green
Despite the uncertainty on the ground, Wall Street chose optimism. Stocks rose for a second consecutive day on Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each gaining 0.73%, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.63%.
Traders appear to be pricing in the possibility that the ceasefire holds, even if the physical evidence in the strait suggests otherwise.
Oil, however, told a different story. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 2.2% to above $96.49 per barrel, briefly topping $100 earlier in the session. Brent crude climbed to $94.81 a barrel.
With the Strait still not fully operational, energy markets remain on edge, and prices are reflecting that tension even as equity markets look past it.
Crypto steadies as risk appetite returns
Digital assets posted a mixed but broadly stable session. Bitcoin (BTC) rose 0.8% over the past 24 hours to $72,271.57.
Ethereum (ETH) slipped 0.1% to $2,213.76, while XRP (XRP) held at $1.35 after a marginal overnight dip. Solana (SOL) pulled back 0.5% to $83.98.
The crypto fear and greed index continues to hover at Extreme Fear and at press time, it was 14.
The total crypto market cap also increased 1.4% overnight to $2.52 trillion.
Crypto stocks, however, flashed mixed signals. During market hours, Coinbase was down 2.22% at press time, and Robinhood was down 1.13%. Meanwhile, Strategy was slightly up by 0.58%.
This article has been published in TheStreet via Yahoo News.
US-Iran ceasefire hangs by a thread as Bitcoin, XRP steady
Five weeks into the United States-Israel-Iran conflict, and a fragile calm has settled over the Middle East, at least on paper. On the night of April 7, just 90 minutes before the 8 PM ET deadline, U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to pause attacks on Iran, announcing what he called a ...
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