Hello, this is Leonie Kidd writing to you from London. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.
Back from an Easter break, and so much has happened but so little has changed.
It remains to be seen if another deadline and another ultimatum from the White House to Iran will move the needle on negotiations. Market participants seem to be staying on the sidelines amid the uncertainty.
The Artemis II provides a welcome distraction, setting a new record for its astronauts as the farthest humans from Earth. It must provide a fascinating perspective not just on life on this planet, but also on this conflict in the wider scheme of things.
What you need to know today
U.S. President Donald Trump has sharpened his rhetoric toward Iran, saying in a press conference on Monday that “the entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow [Tuesday] night.”
Trump has threatened to attack Iran’s energy and transportation infrastructure after a fresh deadline of Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has received Iran’s latest ceasefire proposal, but Trump described it as “not good enough.” Still, he also struck a more measured tone in some comments on Monday, telling reporters that Tehran was acting as an “active, willing participant” in negotiations.
Oil prices extended gains on these developments. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowly resumed, with eight tankers transiting Monday, up from the average of fewer than two transits per day in March, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. That, however, is a fraction of pre-war levels, with an average of 20 million barrels of crude oil and products transiting the strait per day in 2025.
In equities, Asia-Pacific markets whipsawed in volatile trading on Tuesday, with major indexes flipping to losses in the morning session, while futures point to a mixed picture in Europe and a negative open in the U.S.
Beyond geopolitics, SpaceX has reportedly outlined the details of its much-anticipated IPO. The Elon Musk led group will launch a roadshow in June, with a large portion of shares set to be held for retail investors, according to Reuters.
And beyond our atmosphere, the Artemis II astronauts set a record Monday as the farthest humans from Earth during a lunar flyby promising magnificent views of the far side never before witnessed. The crew surpassed the distance record of 248,655 miles (400,171 kilometers) set by Apollo 13 in April 1970.
— Leonie Kidd
And finally…
As the world’s oil traders parsed satellite images and official statements for clues on the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, one research firm seems to have taken a different approach: It says it sent an analyst directly into the conflict zone.
Citrini Research, which issued a market-shaking bearish call on artificial intelligence earlier this year, said it dispatched an analyst to Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, where the person traveled by boat to observe shipping activity firsthand amid escalating tensions between Iran and the U.S. What the analyst claims to have found challenges the dominant narrative gripping global markets that the critical oil artery is effectively shut.
— Yun Li
Source: CNBC