The entire market surges! Major positive news incoming!

Trump has just announced a two-week ceasefire.

This early morning, U.S. stock index futures for all three major indexes surged across the board, with gains exceeding 2% each. The precious metals market also moved higher across the board. International oil prices, however, plunged sharply, with WTI crude oil futures falling by more than 10%. Analysts say that the latest progress on U.S.-Iran talks has rekindled hopes in the market that the Middle East conflict can be ended through diplomatic channels.

According to the latest report from CCTV News, on April 7, U.S. President Trump said that he agreed to pause bombing and attacks on Iran within two weeks. Trump said, “We received Iran’s ten-point proposals, and we believe this is a viable basis for negotiations. The United States and Iran have essentially reached consensus on almost all the key points over which they previously disagreed, but the two-week period will allow the agreement to be finalized and completed.”

According to a report from the U.S. side on the 7th, White House officials said that Israel has also agreed to a temporary ceasefire.

Before that, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz said that he asked U.S. President Trump to postpone the “final deadline” by two weeks and also asked Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks as a show of goodwill.

All-Line Rally

In the early morning of April 8 Beijing time, during the Asia-Pacific premarket session, futures for all three major U.S. stock indexes collectively strengthened. As of the time the China Securities Journal reporter submitted the story, Dow Jones futures were up 2.07%, S&P 500 index futures were up 2.14%, and Nasdaq 100 index futures were up 2.44%.

The precious metals market also rose across the board. Spot gold rose by more than 2%, to $4,836.8 per ounce; spot silver jumped by more than 3%, to $75.82 per ounce.

International oil prices fell sharply. WTI crude oil futures dropped by more than 10%, to $98.93 per barrel.

In the U.S. stock trading session, all three indexes also rallied collectively in the last stretch near the close. By the close, the S&P 500 index rose 0.08% and the Nasdaq rose 0.1%; both turned positive in the final minute, and both extended their streak of gains to 5 straight trading days. The Dow Jones index fell 0.18%.

U.S. big tech stocks had mixed moves. Broadcom surged by more than 6%. Google C rose by more than 2%. Nvidia, Amazon, and Meta all closed slightly higher. Apple fell by more than 2%. Tesla fell by more than 1%. Microsoft closed slightly lower.

On the news front, in the early hours of April 8, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz posted on social media saying that he asked U.S. President Trump to postpone the “final deadline” by two weeks and also asked Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks as a show of goodwill.

White House press secretary Levit said that Trump has received the plan proposed by Pakistan and will respond. A senior Iranian official said that Iran is actively considering Pakistan’s proposed “two-week ceasefire” request.

Citing Israeli media late on the 7th, Xinhua News Agency reported that as the deadline set by U.S. President Trump for Iran was approaching, U.S.-Iran contacts had made some progress. All parties are working to push for a temporary ceasefire and to explore the possibility of gradually reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel’s public broadcaster quoted diplomatic sources as saying that Pakistan’s proposal to postpone the deadline by two weeks is under intense negotiations. Relevant contacts have shown “positive progress,” but have not yet been finalized.

According to a report on the website of Israel’s “The New Message,” the relevant contacts are moving toward reaching a temporary ceasefire, during which the Strait of Hormuz may gradually resume operations. The report cited statements from regional intelligence officials saying that the parties are closer to a ceasefire than the outside world expected, and they are trying to reach some arrangement before the deadline arrives.

Israel’s Channel 12 Television, citing military sources, said that the direction of the current situation is still unclear and could “go either to fighting or to an agreement.” The Israeli side is preparing for multiple scenarios, including a ceasefire, a framework agreement, and expanding military operations.

The report also said that Israeli officials will describe the coming hours as a “critical moment,” and they are paying attention to whether the U.S. and Iran reach some kind of deadline extension or a framework agreement at the last minute. They believe the arrangements may not fully meet Israel’s interests and demands.

As the deadline neared, on the evening of the 7th the Israeli military issued a statement warning that in the next few hours attacks against Israel could escalate, urging the public to remain vigilant and comply with civil defense instructions.

Trump’s Latest Remarks

Local time on April 7, U.S. President Trump posted on a social platform saying that after phone calls with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Army Chief of Staff Asim Munir, and at Pakistan’s request, the U.S. decided to suspend the originally planned military strike actions against Iran.

Trump said that on the condition that Iran agrees to fully, immediately, and safely open the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. will pause bombing and attacks on Iran for two weeks, and that this arrangement would constitute a “two-way ceasefire.” He said that the U.S. has already completed and even exceeded the predetermined military objectives, and that it has made important progress in promoting a long-term peace agreement with Iran and peace in the Middle East region.

Trump said, “We received Iran’s ten-point proposals, and we believe this plan can serve as a basis for negotiations. The United States and Iran have almost reached consensus on each of the points that were previously debated, but the two weeks will allow the agreement to be finalized and completed.”

He also said that the current situation is close to the resolution stage.

Earlier, on April 7, when Trump accepted a telephone interview with a reporter from Fox News Channel, he said that the U.S. is currently conducting “intense negotiations” regarding Iran’s conflict, but he refused to disclose more details about those negotiations.

When asked what he thought about the negotiations, Trump said, “I can’t tell you, because we are currently in intense negotiations.” Trump also said that he is about to receive a comprehensive briefing on Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz’s proposal.

Shehbaz said earlier in a social media post that he asked Trump to postpone the “final deadline” by two weeks and also asked Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks as a show of goodwill.

On April 6, Trump reiterated that whether Iran’s conflict is about to escalate or is nearing an end depends on Iran’s response to the “final deadline” he set for 8:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on the 7th. On the 7th, he posted on social media threatening Iran, saying, “Tonight, the entire civilization will perish. I don’t want that to happen, but it might.”

On the same day, U.S. Vice President Vance said that if Iran fails to reach an agreement before that evening’s final deadline, the U.S. may escalate its actions against Iran, even using measures that have not been used previously.

Vance said the U.S. has the ability to “inflict greater pain,” but emphasized that neither Trump nor he “wants to go that far,” and that they are actively pushing forward negotiations. He said the U.S. expects to receive Iran’s response before 8:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on the 7th (8:00 a.m. Beijing time on the 8th), regardless of whether the outcome is positive or negative.

Vance warned that the U.S. still has “measures that have not yet been used.” If Iran does not cooperate, the U.S. does not rule out using those measures.

These remarks, along with Trump’s threat on social media—“Tonight, the entire civilization will perish”—triggered some online speculation that Vance was referring to using nuclear weapons.

In response, the White House posted on social media saying: “In the vice president’s remarks here, there is ‘literally’ nothing ‘implying’ that that is the case.”

(Editor: Zhang Yan)

     【Disclaimer】This article only represents the author’s personal opinions and is not related to Hexun. The Hexun website remains neutral toward the statements and views made in the text and provides no explicit or implied guarantees regarding the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of any content included herein. Readers should use it for reference only and bear full responsibility themselves. Email: news_center@staff.hexun.com

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