Daily News
Hormuz Stays Largely Closed as Iran Toll Plans and Saudi Pipeline Attack Rattle Ceasefire
10 April 2026
Today in Brief
Markets edged higher despite a fragile ceasefire, as Iranian plans to charge crypto fees on Hormuz shipping drew a sharp warning from Trump, and attacks on Saudi pipelines and production facilities cut output by over 1.3 million barrels per day.
In tech, Anthropic revealed run-rate revenue surpassing $30 billion and is exploring designing its own AI chips, while Meta deepened its CoreWeave partnership with a fresh $21 billion cloud computing deal.
Asia-Pacific markets rise amid worries over Strait of Hormuz staying largely closed
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher Friday, though a fragile two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran keeps investors on tenterhooks with oil prices remaining volatile. The conflict in the Middle East, now in its second month, led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and traffic continues to be largely restricted via the crucial energy waterway despite the ceasefire. Tehran had said it would reopen the strait as long as all attacks on the country were halted, according to a statement from its foreign minister. Media reports said that Israel had also agreed to the ceasefire. That followed U.S. President Donald Trump pausing attacks on Iran on Tuesday.
U.S. Indexes End Higher, Oil Pares Gains on Iran Ceasefire Optimism; Dow Turns Positive for Year
Stocks rallied to end higher and oil prices pared gains amid optimism the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran would hold. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, benchmark S&P 500, and blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Thursday up a respective 0.8%, 0.6%, and 0.6%. The Dow moved back into positive territory for the year, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 finished higher for a seventh straight session apiece. Yesterday, major stock indexes soared and oil prices plunged after President Donald Trump announced late Tuesday that the U.S. and Iran had agreed to a two-week ceasefire.
Gold steadied above $4,700 per ounce on Friday and remained on course for a third consecutive weekly gain
Gold steadied above $4,700 per ounce on Friday and remained on course for a third consecutive weekly gain, as the US-Iran ceasefire triggered a sharp decline in oil prices and eased concerns over renewed inflation and potential interest rate hikes. The metal also drew support from a softer dollar, which had emerged as the leading safe-haven asset during the crisis. Investors turned their attention to upcoming diplomatic talks in Islamabad this weekend, where Vice President JD Vance is set to head a US delegation in meetings with Iranian officials. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that continued operations in Lebanon are not covered by the US-Iran ceasefire agreement, even as Washington plans to host further discussions next week involving Israel and Lebanon to advance broader truce efforts.
WTI crude futures climbed above $98 per barrel on Friday
WTI crude futures climbed above $98 per barrel on Friday as Israeli strikes on Lebanon and the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz strained diplomatic efforts, but prices were still on track to drop more than 10% for the week after the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintained that operations in Lebanon fall outside the scope of the US-Iran truce, although Washington has scheduled talks next week with Israel and Lebanon to address broader ceasefire negotiations. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump warned Iran over imposing transit fees in Hormuz, criticizing its handling of oil flows. The crucial waterway remains largely closed as shipowners wait for clearer guidance on access.
Iran attacks on crucial Saudi pipeline and production facilities slash kingdom's oil output
Saudi Arabia's critical pipeline to the Red Sea suffered a recent attack from Iran, cutting throughput by 700,000 barrels per day. The attack hit a pumping station on the East-West pipeline, according to a state-news agency report. This pipeline brings crude oil from processing facilities near the Persian Gulf to an export terminal on the Red Sea called Yanbu. The Saudis have relied on the pipeline, which has a capacity of 7 million bpd, as their main way to export crude oil during the Iran war. Riyadh cannot export through the Strait of Hormuz due to Iranian attacks. Attacks on Saudi's Manifa and Khurais production facilities have slashed the kingdom's output by 600,000 bpd, according to the Saudi Press Agency report. Several refineries have also been attacked.
Kevin Warsh Fed chair confirmation plan hits snag as nomination hearing is delayed
An expected nomination hearing for Federal Reserve chair candidate Kevin Warsh has been delayed, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC on Thursday evening. Warsh had been set to appear before the Senate Banking Committee on April 16. That won't happen, but the hearing is still expected soon, the person said, requesting anonymity as the details have not been made public by the committee. The committee's rules require that it give a week's notice before the hearing is held, and the panel first needs to collect paperwork from the nominee, including financial disclosures. The Banking Committee has yet to receive Warsh's paperwork, according to three people familiar with the Senate process.
Trump says Iran 'better stop now' if it's charging oil tankers fees to go through Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump on Thursday said that Iran "better stop now" if it's charging fees to oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump's warning in a Truth Social post put even more strain on the fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran less than two days after it began. Trump said Tuesday evening that the U.S. would agree to a two-week suspension of hostilities against the Islamic Republic on the condition that it agree to "the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz." But vessel traffic through the strait, a vital artery for about 20% of the world's oil supply, remains tightly throttled, as it has since the war began on Feb. 28. Iran is meanwhile planning to charge shipping firms fees, to be paid in cryptocurrency, to allow their vessels to sail through the waterway, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
China factory prices return to growth after 3 years, beating expectations on surging oil prices
China's factory-gate prices rose for the first time in more than three years while consumer inflation moderated in March, amid a surge in oil prices as the Iran war upended global energy markets. The producer price index grew 0.5% from a year earlier, the first growth since September 2022, ending the longest deflationary streak in decades. For the first quarter, the PPI fell 0.6% year on year. Consumer prices climbed 1% in March from a year earlier, missing economists' forecast of 1.2% growth in a Reuters poll and slowing from a 1.3% rise in February, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday. China, the world's largest oil importer, faces potential inflationary spillovers, though its massive strategic stockpiles and diversified energy sources have provided some cushion for the economy.
Alibaba leads $290 million investment for building a new kind of AI model as LLM limits emerge
Alibaba Cloud is investing in a new type of artificial intelligence designed to better replicate the real world using a different approach from chatbots such as OpenAI's ChatGPT. The shift recognizes the limits of "large language models" trained primarily on text. Instead, developers are starting to focus more on "world models" built on videos and real-life physical scenarios. To jump on the trend, Alibaba led a 2 billion yuan ($290 million) investment in ShengShu, the startup behind the AI video generation tool Vidu, the company announced Friday. TAL Education and Baidu Ventures also participated in the series B funding round. The investment comes about two months after ShengShu raised 600 million yuan from Qiming Venture Partners and other backers. The startup declined to disclose its valuation.
Anthropic weighs building its own AI chips
Artificial intelligence lab Anthropic is exploring the possibility of designing its own chips, three sources said, as the company and its rivals respond to a shortage of AI chips needed to power and develop more advanced AI systems. The plans are in early stages and the company may still decide to only buy AI chips and not design any, according to two people with knowledge of the matter and one person briefed on Anthropic's plans. The company has yet to commit to a specific design or put together a dedicated team to work on the project, one of the sources said. A spokesperson for the San Francisco-based company declined to comment on the article. Demand for its AI model Claude has accelerated in 2026, with the startup's run-rate revenue now surpassing $30 billion, up from about $9 billion at the end of 2025, Anthropic said earlier this week.
Meta, CoreWeave deepen AI cloud partnership with fresh $21 billion deal
Meta Platforms is deepening its CoreWeave partnership with a fresh $21 billion deal for additional cloud computing capacity, as it rushes to catch up with rivals in the high-stakes artificial intelligence race after an underwhelming AI model release last year. The latest deal, which extends through December 2032, is in addition to a similar $14.2 billion agreement signed in September, CoreWeave said on Thursday. Meta shares were up 3.1%, while those of CoreWeave rose 4.1%. Meta has been rapidly expanding compute capacity to power the development and deployment of its large language models, benefiting companies such as CoreWeave, which provides clients with hardware and cloud resources. Close Nvidia ties have made CoreWeave a key supplier of the specialized AI chips that large tech companies are scrambling to secure.
USA Rare Earth considers building French magnet plant
USA Rare Earth is considering building a magnet plant in France, its CEO said on Thursday, after agreeing to pay 40 million euros ($47 million) for a stake in French rare earth processing firm Carester. The United States and Europe are rushing to establish domestic supplies of rare earths, which are vital for the green energy transition, electronics and the defence sector, and cut their dependence on top producer China. As part of its drive to establish an integrated rare earths operation comprising mining, processing and magnet making, USA Rare Earth will buy a 12.5% stake in Carester, which is building a processing plant in southern France, the company said. InfraVia, a critical minerals fund seeded by the French state, will also buy a 12.5% stake in privately held Carester, USA Rare Earth added.
