Daily News
Oil Surges and Markets Rally as Naval Seizure Ignites New Middle East Tensions
20 April 2026
Today in Brief
Global energy markets were jolted after the U.S. Navy seized an Iranian-flagged ship in the Gulf of Oman, reversing recent optimism despite the S&P 500 crossing the 7,100 milestone.
High-stakes corporate moves dominated headlines as Cerebras filed for its IPO to challenge Nvidia, and Eli Lilly neared a $2 billion acquisition in the biotech sector.
Asia markets mostly rise as U.S.-Iran tensions escalate after ship seizure
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher Monday, as investors continue to keep a cautious eye on developments in the Middle East amid renewed tensions between Iran and the U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that a U.S Navy guided missile destroyer had fired on and disabled an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman before Marines boarded and seized the vessel. The seizure is an escalation of the blockade and comes after Iran fired upon commercial vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz earlier Sunday. The strait is between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Since last week, the U.S. has been operating a naval blockade of ships entering and exiting Iranian ports.
S&P 500 notches first close above 7,100, Nasdaq posts longest win streak since 1992
U.S. stocks rocketed higher on Friday after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open” on the heels of a ceasefire announcement between Israel and Lebanon. The S&P 500 jumped 1.2% to close at 7,126.06, crossing the 7,100 threshold for the first time. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.52% and settled at 24,468.48 for its 13th consecutive winning day and its longest positive streak since 1992. Both indexes posted fresh intraday and closing records. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 868.71 points, or 1.79%, to end at 49,447.43. The Russell 2000 also reached a fresh high. The small-cap index rose more than 2%.
Gold dropped more than 1% to below $4,800 an ounce on Monday, giving back gains from the previous week
Gold dropped more than 1% to below $4,800 an ounce on Monday, giving back gains from the previous week as renewed hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz drove oil prices sharply higher, intensifying inflation concerns. In the latest escalation, President Donald Trump said the US Navy fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman after it ignored warnings to halt while departing Hormuz. Tehran also targeted ships and reasserted control over the Strait, arguing that the US blockade on Iran-linked vessels breached the ceasefire agreement. Meanwhile, Trump indicated there was still an opportunity for a deal ahead of another round of talks in Pakistan, although Iran sees little prospect for an agreement.
WTI crude futures surged more than 6% toward $89 per barrel on Monday, reversing losses from the previous session
WTI crude futures surged more than 6% toward $89 per barrel on Monday, reversing losses from the previous session as geopolitical tensions flared again in the Middle East. The rally followed remarks from President Donald Trump that the US Navy fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman after it ignored orders to stop while exiting Hormuz. Tehran also targeted ships and reasserted control over the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that the US blockade on Iran-linked vessels violated the ceasefire agreement. While momentum toward a lasting peace had been building late last week, uncertainty has since resurfaced, even as Trump said US negotiators would head to Pakistan on Monday for another round of talks.
U.S. struck, seized Iranian-flagged ship Touska in Gulf of Oman, Trump says
A U.S Navy guided missile destroyer fired on and disabled an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman before Marines boarded and seized the vessel, President Donald Trump said Sunday. Trump said that the USS Spruance intercepted the Iranian ship, the Touska, and “gave them fair warning to stop.” “The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel,” the president said. He noted that the Touska is under U.S. Treasury Sanctions due to its “prior history of illegal activity.” U.S. Central Command later Sunday released a video of a Spruance crew member warning the Touska in a radio transmission, “We’re prepared to subject you to disabling fire.”
China keeps benchmark lending rates unchanged as economic growth revs up, Mideast risks loom
China held its benchmark lending rates unchanged for an 11th straight month, keeping its powder dry as policymakers weigh the economic fallout from the Middle East war against resilient growth at home and fading deflationary pressure that has given Beijing less urgency to act. The People’s Bank of China kept the loan prime rate, or LPR, unchanged on Monday, as surging global oil prices amid escalating Middle East tensions pushed up energy prices and clouded the growth outlook. The one-year LPR, a benchmark for new loans, was kept at 3.0% while the five-year LPR, a reference for mortgage rates, was unchanged at 3.5%. The decision came after the world’s second-largest economy grew 5% in the first quarter, accelerating from 4.5% in the prior quarter, and at the top end of its full-year target range.
The U.S.-UK ‘special relationship’ sours ahead of royal visit to Washington
A year ago, the U.K. was negotiating a trade deal with Washington and President Donald Trump’s fondness for the country, his mother’s birthplace, suggested a positive outlook for the two countries’ unusually close diplomatic ties. Britain was the first country to sign a trade pact with the U.S. in May 2025, enjoying remarkably good relations with the White House and its mercurial leader, despite his political differences with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The president’s tariff policies, provocative threats against Greenland and the war against Iran have tested old alliances. Trump has criticized NATO allies for not supporting military operations against Iran and singled out the U.K. in particular, denigrating its military policies and questioning its loyalty.
North Korea fires ballistic missiles again, flexing muscle amid Iran war
North Korea fired ballistic missiles into the sea on Sunday, accelerating its missile launches amid Iran war tensions and talk of possible meetings with the U.S. and South Korea. Pyongyang’s intense missile activity - this was the fourth such launch this month and the seventh of the year - is meant to display its self-defence capabilities while gaining international leverage. “The missile launches may be a way of showing that - unlike Iran - we have self-defence capabilities,” said South Korean former presidential security adviser Kim Ki-jung. The North also appears to be exerting pressure pre-emptively and making a show of force before engaging in dialogue with the United States and South Korea.
Nvidia rival Cerebras discloses US IPO filing as AI boom drives listings
AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems revealed its filing for a U.S. initial public offering on Friday, bringing the Nvidia rival closer to the public markets as it seeks to tap into growing optimism around a broad revival in the listings market. This is the company’s second attempt to list after it withdrew a previous IPO filing in October. Cerebras aims to challenge Nvidia with a different kind of artificial intelligence chip that avoids dependence on high-bandwidth memory, one of the industry’s biggest bottlenecks. It is focused on inference and has tied much of its growth to OpenAI, including a $20 billion multi-year deal under which the ChatGPT creator will deploy 750 megawatts of Cerebras chips.
Eli Lilly nears $2 bln deal for cancer biotech Kelonia
Eli Lilly is in advanced talks to acquire Kelonia Therapeutics for more than $2 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. A deal could be announced as soon as Monday. Kelonia, a privately held biotech firm, is developing a next-generation treatment for multiple myeloma. The company is focused on advancing a novel CAR-T therapy designed to reprogram a patient’s immune system to target cancer cells, but with a simplified approach that could avoid chemotherapy and complex cell-manufacturing processes. According to the Journal, Kelonia has raised just under $60 million to date and was last valued at slightly above $100 million in 2022.
Google in talks with Marvell to build new AI chips
Alphabet’s Google is in talks with Marvell Technology to develop two new chips aimed at running AI models more efficiently, The Information reported on Sunday. One of the chips is a memory processing unit designed to work with Google’s tensor processing unit (TPU) and the other chip is a new TPU built specifically for running AI models. Google has been pushing to make its TPUs a viable alternative to Nvidia’s dominant GPUs. TPU sales have become a key driver of growth in Google’s cloud revenue as it aims to show investors that its AI investments are generating returns. Google and Marvell did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.
US judge rejects Bayer bid to block Johnson & Johnson prostate cancer drug claims
A U.S. judge has rejected Bayer’s request for an injunction to block Johnson & Johnson’s alleged false advertising that its multibillion-dollar drug cuts the risk of death from prostate cancer in half. U.S. District Judge Dale Ho in Manhattan said Bayer did not show it was likely to succeed on the merits of its claims, which included that Johnson & Johnson’s campaign for its drug Erleada caused irreparable harm and threatened to erode trust in Bayer’s own drug Nubeqa. Bayer sued Johnson & Johnson on February 23, accusing it of falsely claiming that patients had a "51% reduction in risk of death" if treated with Erleada instead of Nubeqa.
