On April 2nd, U.S.-Iran tensions continued to fluctuate, becoming the core variable affecting global financial markets. Yesterday, Trump stated that the United States would end the war against Iran within “two to three weeks”, and the Iranian president also released a willingness for peace, driving a plunge in global oil prices and a rally in U.S. stocks. The Nasdaq closed up nearly 4%, with Nvidia and Google both rising more than 5%. However, market confidence remained cautious. Today, Brent crude oil remained above $100 per barrel, but fell below this key level again in late trading.

Under geopolitical disturbances, global stock markets showed differentiation. Today, Asian-Pacific stock markets soared across the board: the South Korea Composite Index surged more than 8%, and the Nikkei 225 surged more than 5%. In contrast, A-shares performed relatively flat, opening higher in the morning but then experiencing a sell-off, mainly due to cautious capital sentiment ahead of the Qingming holiday and lack of volume in the rebound. Hong Kong stocks followed the rebound of Asian-Pacific stock markets, with the Hang Seng Index and Hang Seng Tech Index both rising to varying degrees.

In the energy market, WTI crude oil broke through $99 per barrel, down 1.12% intraday, and U.S. natural gas futures fell more than 3%. In addition, Emirates Global Aluminium closed its smelter due to an Iranian attack, affecting global aluminum supply, and Alcoa’s stock price rose 5.2%. Analysts pointed out that the volatility of U.S.-Iran tensions will continue to affect global energy, commodities and stock market trends. The market uncertainty is relatively strong in the short term, and investors need to focus on the progress of the geopolitical situation.