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
Hello, this is Leonie Kidd writing to you from London. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.
Not only has the S&P 500 erased all its declines since the onset of the Iran war, it is now nearing an all-time high.
The back-to-back gains for equities in major markets come amid growing optimism that another round of talks between the U.S. and Iran could yield more progress towards a long-term peace agreement.
Investors’ attention is now divided between geopolitical developments and earnings season, which accelerates on both sides of the Atlantic this week.
What you need to know today
The U.S. blockade of Iranian ports has now come fully into effect, “completely” cutting off Tehran’s international sea trade that powers about 90% of its economy, the U.S. Central Command said late Tuesday stateside.
The announcement comes at a time when the White House has been signaling a diplomatic solution to the conflict in the Middle East, as continuing negotiations with Tehran remain under discussion.
The S&P 500 neared record highs on optimism around those upcoming talks, while Asia-Pacific markets traded higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains in U.S. stocks.
There are some interesting trends elsewhere, with gold’s pullback exposing a rare shift in the market: after years of relentless accumulation, some central banks are now selling bullion as Iran war-driven pressures force a scramble for cash.
The world’s leading finance ministers and central bank governors are in Washington, D.C. for the IMF/World Bank spring meetings, with the impact of the war in Iran topping the agenda.
Pakistan’s Finance Minister told CNBC that “diplomacy is a process, not an event” following the failed talks in Pakistani capital Islamabad last weekend, while IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas warned the war was causing “significant downgrades” to international growth forecasts.
The U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is not only squeezing Iran but also ratcheting up pressure on two of its most consequential relationships in Asia — India and China.
With roughly 98% of Iranian oil exports bound for China, and a summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping weeks away, Washington’s maximum-pressure campaign on Iran risks destabilizing the fragile detente that the administration has carefully cultivated with Beijing.
India, with its complicated ties with the U.S., is increasingly finding U.S. policy at odds with its economic interests — most acutely in the energy shock now rippling through its economy.
In corporate news, European chip manufacturing giant ASML has topped first quarter revenue expectations, with sales topping 8.8 billion euros. In the U.S., Bank of America and Morgan Stanley will lead the earnings releases on Wall Street.
— Leonie Kidd
And finally…
Crypto exchange Kraken confirms it has confidentially filed for an IPO
Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi reiterated Tuesday that the crypto exchange has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering.
In November 2025, CNBC reported Kraken was planning its debut. Separately, Kraken said in a blog post at the time that it had submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but that it didn’t yet know when the offering would occur.
Less than a month ago, Kraken reportedly froze its IPO plans amid a crypto winter that pushed the price of bitcoin to 40% below its October record. The flagship cryptocurrency has been climbing higher in recent weeks.
— Tanaya Macheel