Daily News
Global Record Highs as Trump Declares Iran Conflict "Very Close to Over"
16 April 2026
Today in Brief
Optimism for a definitive peace deal sent the Nikkei and Nasdaq to record heights, bolstered by President Trump’s claims of a nearing conclusion to the war.
In corporate breakthroughs, Tesla reached a major AI chip milestone and Nvidia partnered with Cadence for robotics, while Papa John's explores going private.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 hits record high as hopes for U.S.-Iran deal fuel broader rally in Asia stocks
Japan’s Nikkei 225 hit a record Thursday amid a broader rally in Asia markets, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street as hopes of a U.S.-Iran deal grew. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.19%, paring earlier gains after hitting a record fuelled by technology and consumer cyclical stocks. Daikin Industries was the top performer, after activist investor Elliott Investment Management pushed the company to improve performance and narrow its valuation gap with peers. The Topix gained 1.33%. Stocks have rallied this week on the possibility of a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran. The S&P 500, which fully recovered from its Iran war losses on Monday, has risen 3% this week. The Nasdaq and Dow, meanwhile, have added around 5% and more than 1%, respectively.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite close at fresh records as traders look past Iran war fears
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose to new all-time highs on Wednesday, building on the week’s strong gains as investors remained hopeful about the Iran war potentially ending soon. The broad market index gained 0.80%, ending at 7,022.95. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.59% to 24,016.02, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 72.27 points, or 0.15%, to close at 48,463.72. Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed at records, with the tech-heavy index posting an 11th day win streak and the broad market benchmark notching its 10th positive session out of 11.
Gold climbed back above $4,800 an ounce on Thursday, recovering from the prior session’s losses
Gold climbed back above $4,800 an ounce on Thursday, recovering from the prior session’s losses as investors assessed the outlook for renewed negotiations and a potential long-term peace deal between the US and Iran that could help ease inflation pressures. Reports suggested Washington and Tehran are considering extending their two-week ceasefire to allow more time for talks, even as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed under a dual blockade. Attention is now shifting to a possible second round of US-Iran discussions, expected to focus on reopening the strait and Iran’s nuclear enrichment program.
WTI crude futures steadied near $91 per barrel on Thursday after a volatile start to the week
WTI crude futures steadied near $91 per barrel on Thursday after a volatile start to the week, as investors looked toward a possible extension of the ceasefire between the US and Iran while weighing prospects for a broader agreement that could end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Reports indicated that Washington and Tehran are mulling an extension to their two-week ceasefire to allow more time to negotiate a peace deal. Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, with a US naval blockade on Iranian ports still in place, keeping markets on edge over further supply disruptions. Iran also warned it could retaliate against an extended US blockade by suspending shipments across the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and the Red Sea. Markets are now turning their attention to a likely second round of US-Iran talks, expected to center on reopening the strait and Iran’s nuclear enrichment activities.
China economic growth accelerates to 5% in first quarter — but Iran war clouds outlook
China’s economy gathered steam in the first quarter, as robust exports offset sluggish domestic consumption, though an energy shock stemming from the Iran war threatens to sap global demand and undercut that momentum. Gross domestic product grew 5% in the three months to March, data from the National Statistics Bureau showed Thursday, accelerating from 4.5% in the prior quarter and exceeding economists’ forecast for a 4.8% growth in a Reuters poll. Beijing had lowered its growth target this year to a range of 4.5% to 5%, the least ambitious goal on record going back to the early 1990s, in a tacit acknowledgement of demand slowdown and lingering trade tensions with the U.S.
Iran war ‘very close to over,’ Trump says — and the stock market ‘is going to boom’
The Iran war is “very close to over” with authorities in Tehran eager to agree a peace deal, U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview broadcast Wednesday. “We’ve beaten them militarily, totally,” Trump told Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” in a prerecorded interview. “I think it’s close to over, I view it as very close to over. ... If I pulled up stakes right now it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country, and we’re not finished.” “We’ll see what happens, I think they want to make a deal very badly,” he added. The president’s latest comments come amid growing market optimism that a diplomatic solution to the U.S.-Iran war can be found, despite the failure of peace talks last weekend.
World Bank president: Prepare for months of disruption, even after Hormuz Strait reopens
Countries affected by the Iran war should prepare for conflict-related disruptions to last for months, even if the current shaky ceasefire lasts and the Strait of Hormuz is reopened, World Bank President Ajay Banga said Wednesday. “It’ll still take a few months for things to come back to where they were” once the key oil-shipping route is no longer choked off amid Iranian threats and a U.S. blockade, Banga told CNBC’s Karen Tso at the International Monetary Fund’s spring meeting. “So we have to prepare for a few months of some destabilization for these countries,” he said. Banga said that the World Bank has prepared a “war chest” plan to provide countries with varying levels of funding, depending on how long the conflict drags on.
Trump threatens to fire Powell if the Fed chair doesn’t leave office on his own
President Donald Trump on Wednesday again threatened to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and said the probe into the renovation of the central bank’s headquarters needs to continue. If Powell stays on as a Fed governor after his successor is confirmed, Trump said he’ll have him removed from office. “Then I’ll have to fire him,” the president said during an interview on Fox Business. “If he’s not leaving on time — I’ve held back firing him. I’ve wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial. I want to be uncontroversial.” Powell’s term as chair expires May 15, and Trump has nominated former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh as his successor. Though Powell’s time as chair is nearly finished, he has two years remaining on his term as governor. Though most Fed chairs in the past have left the central bank after being replaced, Powell has demurred under repeated questions on what he plans to do.
Cadence, Nvidia working together on developing AI for robotics
Cadence Design Systems and Nvidia are partnering to further the development of artificial intelligence for robots, the CEOs of the two companies said on Wednesday. Cadence, which is one of the major suppliers of the software used in designing advanced computing chips, is working with Nvidia to integrate its physics engines, which predict how real-world materials interact, with Nvidia AI models designed to train robots inside computer simulations. Training robots inside such simulations can be faster than training them in the real world. The goal of the collaboration, the two CEOs said at a conference hosted by Cadence in Santa Clara, California, is to shrink the time needed to get robots to carry out useful tasks.
Tesla stock jumps 8% on AI chip milestone announcement
Tesla shares rose as much as 8% on Wednesday after Chief Executive Elon Musk announced the company’s chip design team completed the "tape out" of its AI5 chip. The electric vehicle maker was the best performer among the Magnificent Seven technology stocks following Musk’s announcement on X. "Congrats to the Tesla AI chip design team on taping out AI5! AI6, Dojo3 & other exciting chips in work," Musk wrote. A tape out refers to the final stage of chip design before manufacturing begins, marking the completion of the design process and readiness for production. The gains came amid broader strength in technology stocks. Microsoft followed Tesla with a 3.7% gain. Both stocks have been relative laggards this year. Tesla is scheduled to report its first quarter 2026 financial results and provide an update to investors next Wednesday.
Papa John’s shares surge on potential buyout deal
Papa John’s International shares jumped approximately 5.7% on Wednesday following a Reuters report indicating the pizza chain is in advanced discussions for a potential buyout that would take the company private. According to the report, Papa John’s is actively negotiating a deal that would remove the company from public markets. The discussions come as the pizza industry faces challenges including increased competition, rising commodity costs, and declining consumer demand. The company’s stock has fallen 28% over the past six months, closing at around $34.99 per share on Tuesday. In March, Qatari-backed investment fund Irth Capital, supported by Brookfield Asset Management, offered $47 per share for Papa John’s, the report said.
Alibaba shares rise on cloud cybersecurity price hikes
Shares of Alibaba Group rose on Wednesday after its cloud unit announced price increases for cybersecurity services, reinforcing expectations of stronger monetization from AI-driven demand. Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed stock rose 3.6% to HK$129 by 06:13 GMT. According to local media reports, Alibaba Cloud will raise prices for several distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) protection products starting July 15. Monthly pricing for its DDoS Native Protection 2.0 service will increase from 82 yuan to 98.5 yuan per Mbps, while daily rates will be cut to 6 yuan from 12 yuan. The move highlights growing demand for cybersecurity and cloud infrastructure as enterprises ramp up spending on artificial intelligence and data protection.
