A fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire sparks market relief — but no clear path to lasting peace


WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 06: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks alongside Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe (L) and U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (R) during a news conference in James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on April 06, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty Images

A temporary U.S.-Iran ceasefire sparked a broad relief rally across assets on Wednesday, but experts warned that any deal concerning lasting peace will be complicated by a major trust deficit.

The ceasefire came following hastened diplomatic efforts led by Pakistan and just hours before Trump’s threatened deadline for wiping out the entire Iranian civilization, briefly pulling the region back from the brink of a massive military bombardment.

Oil prices cooled to below $100 per barrel following the ceasefire announcement, but remain far above the pre-war levels of around $70 per barrel.

While U.S. President Donald Trump said the two-week ceasefire was contingent on the “complete, immediate, and safe opening” of the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian officials stated that safe passage through the strait would be “possible,” subject to coordination with its armed forces and “technical limitations” — caveats that may give Iran some room to define compliance on its own terms.

“This is a problem that could derail the ceasefire later this year,” said Matt Gertken, chief geopolitical strategist at BCA Research, warning that the coordination requirement remains a risky ambiguity in both sides’ statements so far.

Trump may temporarily accept Iran as a gatekeeper — with U.S. midterm elections approaching and gasoline prices sharply higher than before the war — but after the election, the U.S. national security establishment will start to demand a more permanent solution,” said Gertken. “Fighting will ignite later this year, if not later this month.”

A protester waves an Iranian flag and shouts slogans during a demonstration against US military action in Iran near the White House in Washington, DC, on April 7, 2026.

Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images

Tehran also said that its armed forces will cease defensive operations if attacks against Iran are halted. After the ceasefire came into effect at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, missiles were still launched from Iran towards Israel and several Gulf states.

The reprieve on Tuesday would allow some time for the two sides to reach a longer agreement to end the six-week-old war, which has killed thousands of people and sparked a global energy crisis, with their delegations expected to meet in Islamabad on Friday.

Iran is reportedly finalizing a joint maritime protocol with Oman to institutionalize coordinated management of tanker traffic through the strait, which could embed Iranian authority over the crucial energy artery into a standing bilateral agreement.

Fragile truce

The ceasefire, holding together a group of parties with sharply diverging interests, also leaves questions open over whether resumed peace talks will yield meaningful results without renewing tensions.

Pratibha Thaker, regional director, Africa and the Middle East at the Economist Intelligence Unit, described the ceasefire agreement as “a huge relief” but warned that a significant lack of trust on both sides will complicate upcoming negotiations.

“What are we are seeing right now, I would really like to stress is a pause in the conflict, rather than any kind of lasting resolution,” Thaker told CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition” on Wednesday.

“But, and this is a big but, it is a very fragile arrangement. The ceasefire hinges on Iran suspending its military activity [and] fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping,” Thaker said.

“Crucially, there is a deep trust deficit on both sides. From Washington’s perspective, longstanding concerns over Iran’s nuclear program. From Tehran’s side, deep skepticisim about U.S. intentions, especially given past withdrawals from agreements and continued military presence and pressure as well.”

A fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire sparks market relief — but no clear path to lasting peace

Israel agreed to suspend strikes but urged Washington to press for deeper Iranian concessions, including the surrender of enriched uranium stockpiles. In its 10-point terms, Iran requested Washington to accept its uranium enrichment program and the lifting of all sanctions.

The ceasefire will likely hold in the near term, given the economic costs accruing to the global economy from six weeks of conflict, said Michael Langham, emerging markets economist at Aberdeen Investments. “Parties with vested interest in stopping the conflict and reopening the strait will double down on efforts to find a compromise,” he said.

If the truce holds and the strait reopens, the global economic damage should prove manageable, Langham added. Central banks could broadly resume their pre-conflict paths — and attention may shift from inflation to growth, if commodity prices normalize quickly, he added.

The market calculation

The ceasefire sparked a relief rally in markets amid repricing for a de-escalation in the conflict, but investors will watch for something more durable than a two-week pause, Geoff Yu, senior market strategist at BNY, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Wednesday.

“What the market is going to start pricing ahead is a first step towards further de-escalation and perhaps something more permanent,” he said, flagging that the disruption has extended beyond crude oil to commodities such as helium, critical to semiconductor manufacturers in South Korea and Taiwan.

Stocks surged across regions, with Asian benchmarks and U.S. futures climbing, amid rising optimism for a potential turning point in a conflict that has rattled markets for weeks.

An Indian Oil Corp. gas station in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Wednesday, April 8, 2026.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Josh Rubin, portfolio manager at Thornburg Investments, cautioned against reading the early market reaction as a definitive verdict. “There’s still low visibility [and] limited predictability” on whether the truce will hold, Rubin said, warning that tail risks remain if the strait remains closed for another two to four months.

Energy and commodity markets are likely to remain on a structurally higher floor regardless of the ceasefire outcome, said BCA Research’s Gertken, as governments hoard and restock in anticipation of renewed conflict, keeping oil and gas prices elevated well above pre-war levels even in a scenario where shipping resumes.

‘A wake-up call for everybody’

Mehran Kamrava, professor of government at Georgetown University of Qatar, said the two-week ceasefire shows that there is “tremendous willpower” from both Washington and Tehran to bring this war to an end.

“Probably the one party that did not want the war to end is Israel and we see that Israel has refused to say that this ceasefire applies to Lebanon. So yes, I think the ceasefire will hold because neither the Trump administration nor the Iranians really want this war to continue,” Kamrava told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday.

'Tremendous' willpower to end Iran war: professor

When asked how the last 24 to 48 hours may have influenced the way the U.S. is viewed by its allies and adversaries across the globe, Kamrava said the world had been “put on notice” by some of Trump’s comments.

“One of the things we have seen here in the region is that close alliance with the United States does not necessarily bring you security. If anything, it creates adversaries and it creates problems,” Kamrava said.

“So, what we have seen in the past 48 to 24 hours, particularly given President Trump’s extremely incendiary and violent language on social media is kind of a wake up call for everybody, both allies and adversaries, that this is a very unreliable and really unpredictable actor in the White House,” he added.

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U.S. trading partners cheer Supreme Court tariff ruling — but businesses must still navigate ‘murky waters’


World leaders during the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis, in Alberta, Canada, June 17, 2025.

Amber Bracken |Reuters

U.S. trading partners offered a cautious welcome to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Friday to strike down large parts of President Donald Trump’s flagship trade policy on global tariffs — but global trade bodies warned of lingering uncertainty surrounding import levies.

The law that undergirds the import duties “does not authorize the President to impose tariffs,” the majority ruled six to three in the long-awaited Supreme Court decision.

Hours after the ruling, Trump said he signed an executive order imposing a new 10% “global tariff”. The “Section 122” tariffs will take effect “almost immediately,” Trump said. At a White House press briefing Friday afternoon, Trump railed against the “deeply disappointing” 6-3 ruling.

Trump’s tariff regime impacted a swathe of countries from the U.K. to India and the European Union. Some governments, like Vietnam and Brazil are still in negotiations.

Taiwan, home to the the world’s leading contract chipmaker and producer of the most advanced semiconductors, said the 10% flat tariff rate would, according to an initial assessment, have a “limited impact” on its economy.

The island will continue to “closely monitor” developments and maintain close communication with the U.S. to understand the specific measures and respond in a timely manner, the Taiwanese cabinet said in a statement on Saturday.

French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly said the Supreme Court’s ruling proved the benefit of having an effective counterweight to power.

“It is not bad to have a Supreme Court and, therefore, the rule of law,” Reuters quoted him as saying at an event in Paris on Saturday.

A U.K. government spokesperson said the country would continue to work with the White House administration to understand how the ruling will affect tariffs for the U.K. and the rest of the world

“This is a matter for the U.S. to determine but we will continue to support U.K. businesses as further details are announced,” the spokesperson said.

“The U.K. enjoys the lowest reciprocal tariffs globally, and under any scenario we expect our privileged trading position with the U.S. to continue.” The U.K. agreed a wide-ranging trade deal with the U.S. in May last year, which imposed a broad 10% levy on many goods, but also included certain carve-outs on steel, aluminum, cars and pharmaceuticals.

The Supreme Court case focused mainly on reciprocal tariffs, and the ruling leaves much of the U.K.’s trade deal with the U.S. — including preferential sectoral tariffs on steel, pharmaceuticals and autos — unaffected.

However, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) trade body said the U.S. Supreme Court decision adds to the ongoing uncertainty around levies.

U.S. trading partners cheer Supreme Court tariff ruling — but businesses must still navigate ‘murky waters’

William Bain, head of trade policy at the BCC, said the move “does little to clear the murky waters” for British businesses, warning that the President still has “other options at his disposal” to retain his current regime on steel and aluminum tariffs.  

“The court’s decision also raises questions on how U.S. importers can reclaim levies already paid and whether U.K. exporters can also receive a share of any rebate depending on commercial trading terms,” Bain said in a statement. “For the U.K., the priority remains bringing tariffs down wherever possible.”

Olof Gill, European Commission spokesperson for trade and economic security, said businesses on both sides of the Atlantic depend on “stability and predictability.”

“We remain in close contact with the U.S. Administration as we seek clarity on the steps they intend to take in response to this ruling,” Gill said. “We therefore continue to advocate for low tariffs and to work towards reducing them.”

Meanwhile, Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister for U.S.-Canadian trade relations, said the decision “reinforces Canada’s position that the IEEPA tariffs imposed by the United States are unjustified.”

No trade ‘win’ yet

Elsewhere, Swissmem, Switzerland’s technology industry association, welcomed the ruling — but warned that the Trump administration could invoke other laws to “legitimize tariffs,” and called on Swiss policymakers to strengthen the competitiveness of the country with new free trade agreements.

“From the perspective of the Swiss export industry, this is a good decision. The high tariffs have severely damaged the tech industry. However, today’s ruling doesn’t win anything yet,” Swissmem said.

“The high tariffs have severely damaged the tech industry,” Swissmem wrote on X. “The crucial thing now is to quickly secure relations with the U.S. through a binding trade agreement.”

The International Chamber of Commerce noted that many businesses will welcome the ruling given the “significant strain” that has been placed on balance sheets in recent months.

“But companies should not expect a simple process: the structure of U.S. import procedures means claims are likely to be administratively complex. Today’s ruling is worrying silent on this issue and clear guidance from the Court of International Trade and the relevant U.S. authorities will be essential to minimise avoidable costs and prevent litigation risks,” the ICC said.

— CNBC’s Jackson Peck and Greg Kennedy helped contribute to this story.