{"id":61039,"date":"2026-04-18T02:38:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T06:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-pivot-as-us-iran-ceasefire-reopens-hormuz-and-spacex-ipo-targets-record-2-trillion-valuation\/61039\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T02:38:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T06:38:33","slug":"global-markets-pivot-as-us-iran-ceasefire-reopens-hormuz-and-spacex-ipo-targets-record-2-trillion-valuation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-pivot-as-us-iran-ceasefire-reopens-hormuz-and-spacex-ipo-targets-record-2-trillion-valuation\/61039\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Markets Pivot as US-Iran Ceasefire Reopens Hormuz and SpaceX IPO Targets Record $2 Trillion Valuation"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>US Treasury extends Russian oil waiver to May 16<\/strong>, potentially releasing <strong>100 million barrels<\/strong> of crude to stabilize global markets amid the ongoing West Asia conflict.<\/li>\n<li><strong>SpaceX targets a historic $1.75T\u2013$2T valuation<\/strong> for its upcoming IPO, showcasing California and Texas hubs to sovereign wealth funds and anchor investors.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Strait of Hormuz has temporarily reopened<\/strong> for commercial tankers following a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, easing the &quot;worst oil shock in history.&quot;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Factset warns of a tech rotation<\/strong>, noting that excluding Nvidia (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>), the &quot;Magnificent 7&quot; companies are now expected to report lower earnings growth than the other 493 <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/markets\/sp500\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"snp500 today\">S&amp;P 500<\/a> firms.<\/li>\n<li><strong>India\u2019s industrial output is reeling<\/strong> from a 30% drop in LPG supplies, triggering a labor exodus of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers from auto and textile hubs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Energy &amp; Geopolitics: A Fragile Thaw in the Persian Gulf<\/h2>\n<p>Global energy markets saw a dramatic <strong>9% decline in oil prices<\/strong> on Friday as the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> partially reopened to commercial traffic. The move followed a 10-day ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, which Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed would allow for a &quot;coordinated route&quot; for tankers. Vessel tracking data on Saturday confirmed a convoy of tankers successfully exited the Persian Gulf, providing the first major relief to global supply chains since the conflict began on February 28.<\/p>\n<p>In a significant policy reversal, the <strong>US Treasury Department<\/strong> quietly extended a short-term waiver allowing the sale of already-shipped <strong>Russian oil until May 16<\/strong>. This extension, which affects over <strong>100 million barrels<\/strong> currently in transit, contradicts earlier signals from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that the waiver would expire. <em>Analysts suggest the move is a strategic effort by the <a href=\"https:\/\/thestockmarketwatch.com\/live\/trump-stock-market\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Trump\">Trump<\/a> administration to prevent a price spike while negotiations for a broader &quot;Islamabad Accord&quot; continue.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Corporate &amp; Markets: SpaceX IPO and the &quot;Mag 7&quot; Divergence<\/h2>\n<p><strong>SpaceX<\/strong> has begun a high-stakes roadshow, flying potential anchor investors to its primary hubs in <strong>California and Texas<\/strong>. The company is preparing for what could be the largest IPO in history, with a targeted valuation exceeding <strong>$1.75 trillion<\/strong>. Leading financial institutions including Goldman Sachs (<a href=\"\/stock\/GS\">GS<\/a>), JPMorgan Chase (<a href=\"\/stock\/JPM\">JPM<\/a>), and Morgan Stanley (<a href=\"\/stock\/MS\">MS<\/a>) have reportedly secured senior roles in the deal, which is expected to price during the week of June 15.<\/p>\n<p>While SpaceX gains momentum, the broader tech sector faces a critical turning point. According to <strong>Factset<\/strong>, the &quot;Magnificent 7&quot; dominance is narrowing; when excluding the outsized performance of Nvidia (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>), the remaining six tech giants are projected to report <strong>lower earnings growth<\/strong> than the rest of the S&amp;P 500 (<a href=\"\/stock\/SPY\">SPY<\/a>). <em>This shift suggests a market rotation into &quot;real-world assets&quot; and value stocks as the 493 other companies in the index begin to regain their footing.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Emerging Markets: Industrial Strain and Infrastructure Boldness<\/h2>\n<p><strong>India\u2019s<\/strong> manufacturing sector is facing its worst crisis in decades as a severe <strong>LPG shortage<\/strong> drives a mass exodus of migrant laborers. In industrial hubs like Haryana and Surat, production in the auto and textile sectors has been hit by labor shortages in the hundreds of thousands. To stem the tide of protests over rising living costs, the Haryana government has hiked the <strong>minimum wage by 35%<\/strong>, adding further margin pressure to carmakers like Tata Motors (<a href=\"\/stock\/TATAMOTORS\">TATAMOTORS<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, <strong>Vietnam\u2019s Vingroup (<a href=\"\/stock\/VIC\">VIC<\/a>)<\/strong> has signaled long-term confidence by breaking ground on a <strong>$5.6 billion high-speed rail line<\/strong>. The project, developed by its subsidiary VinSpeed in partnership with Siemens (<a href=\"\/stock\/SIEGY\">SIEGY<\/a>), will connect Hanoi to key industrial hubs and the UNESCO site at Ha Long Bay. The rail line is designed to reach speeds of <strong>350 km\/h<\/strong>, slashing travel times from two hours to just 23 minutes by 2028.<\/p>\n<h2>Global Briefs: Recovery and Reform<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Israel:<\/strong> The government is using specialized teams of tax officials to assess property damage from over <strong>19,000 claims<\/strong> following Iranian and Hezbollah attacks. The state is prioritizing rapid compensation to victims to ensure the domestic economy remains functional during the ceasefire.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bangladesh:<\/strong> Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury is in Washington negotiating with the <strong>IMF<\/strong> for the remainder of a <strong>$5.5 billion loan<\/strong>, focusing on critical structural reforms required by the lender.<\/li>\n<li><strong>United Kingdom:<\/strong> A boom in &quot;staycations&quot; has been reported across the UK as the ongoing war in West Asia deters holidaymakers from overseas travel, providing an unexpected boost to the domestic hospitality sector.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Banking:<\/strong> The <strong>US Federal Reserve<\/strong> has issued a stern warning to major banks, instructing them not to &quot;push back aggressively&quot; against new, more stringent capital rules designed to bolster financial stability.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Poland:<\/strong> In a bizarre televised moment, Polish President Nawrocki accidentally dropped a tin of snus during a broadcast discussing a ban on the substance; the item was quickly retrieved and handed back to him by a journalist.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways US Treasury extends Russian oil waiver to May 16, potentially releasing 100 million barrels of crude to stabilize [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5012],"tags":[3403,3710,4461,4824,4833,5822,18442],"class_list":["post-61039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-imf","tag-federal-reserve","tag-crude-oil","tag-geopolitics","tag-spacex","tag-nvidia-nvda-stock-nvda","tag-vingroup-vic-stock-vic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}