Key Takeaways
- President Trump called for a complete ceasefire on all Middle East fronts, including Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Israel, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iran.
- Oil prices tumbled as much as 2%, with Brent crude falling toward $78 per barrel and WTI dropping to $75, as the Strait of Hormuz began to reopen for commercial shipping.
- Anthropic has submitted a formal proposal to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to lift the federal ban on its Mythos and Fable AI models, which were restricted last week over national security concerns.
- Global equity markets rallied on the de-escalation news, with the Nikkei 225 hitting an all-time high and U.S. stock futures trending upward.
Trump Signals Middle East De-escalation; Markets React
President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday to urge all parties in the Middle East to maintain their commitment to peace. The President noted that the "United States is committed to PEACE" and called for a total cessation of hostilities involving Israel, Hezbollah, and Lebanon. This message follows the recent signing of a 14-point memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, which has initiated a 60-day negotiation period to reach a final peace agreement.
Financial markets responded immediately to the diplomatic progress, with oil prices continuing their downward trajectory as geopolitical risk premiums evaporated. Brent crude futures fell 1.6% to $78.43, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) (WTI) dropped over 2% to settle near $75.00. Energy giants such as Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) faced downward pressure, while broader equity indices climbed on hopes of stabilized energy costs and restored global supply chains.
The Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for 20% of the world's oil supply, has seen a "noticeable increase" in traffic. According to Lloyd's List Intelligence, major shipowners including Cosco and NYK have begun moving vessels through the waterway for the first time in over 100 days. While roughly 80 mines still require clearing from the central route, tankers are successfully utilizing northern and southern passages through Iranian and Omani waters.
Anthropic Fights to Restore Access to 'Mythos' and 'Fable'
In the technology sector, Anthropic is aggressively lobbying the Trump Administration to reverse an export control directive that forced the company to disable its most advanced AI models. The company reportedly floated a proposal to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick aimed at resolving the standoff over Mythos and Fable, the latter of which was publicly released just days before the ban. The government's restrictions were triggered by concerns that the models could be "jailbroken" to identify critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
The ban has drawn sharp criticism from a bipartisan group of lawmakers and over 150 cybersecurity experts, who argue that the restrictions handicap American defenders while foreign adversaries continue to develop similar capabilities. Amazon (AMZN), a major investor in Anthropic, reportedly alerted officials to the model's ability to bypass safety guardrails, leading to the Department of Commerce order that gave the firm less than 90 minutes to comply.
Anthropic maintains that its safeguards are "substantially more effective" than any previously deployed model and that the vulnerabilities identified by the government are present in other publicly available systems. The company's proposal to Secretary Lutnick likely includes enhanced monitoring and restricted access protocols designed to satisfy national security requirements without a total blackout of the technology. As of Thursday afternoon, the Commerce Department has not issued an official response to the proposal.
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.