{"id":61237,"date":"2026-04-24T08:38:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/geopolitical-breakthrough-hopes-and-intel-surge-lift-markets-amid-global-iran-blockade\/61237\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T08:38:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:38:21","slug":"geopolitical-breakthrough-hopes-and-intel-surge-lift-markets-amid-global-iran-blockade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/geopolitical-breakthrough-hopes-and-intel-surge-lift-markets-amid-global-iran-blockade\/61237\/","title":{"rendered":"Geopolitical Breakthrough Hopes and Intel Surge Lift Markets Amid Global Iran Blockade"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Intel (<a href=\"\/stock\/INTC\">INTC<\/a>)<\/strong> shares skyrocketed <strong>30%<\/strong> in <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/movers\/premarket\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Premarket Movers\">pre-market trading<\/a> following a stellar quarterly report and optimistic guidance driven by <strong>AI-related CPU<\/strong> and <strong>foundry growth<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Brent Crude Oil<\/strong> prices dropped <strong>1.4%<\/strong> on reports that <strong>Pakistan<\/strong> may announce a resumption of <strong>U.S.-Iran negotiations<\/strong> as soon as today.<\/li>\n<li><strong>U.S. Secretary of Defense Hegseth<\/strong> announced that a <strong>second aircraft carrier<\/strong> will join the blockade of Iran, confirming that <strong>34 ships<\/strong> have been turned around at the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> so far.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Procter &amp; Gamble (<a href=\"\/stock\/PG\">PG<\/a>)<\/strong> and <strong>HCA Healthcare (<a href=\"\/stock\/HCA\">HCA<\/a>)<\/strong> both reported quarterly earnings beats, signaling resilient consumer and healthcare demand.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Meta (<a href=\"\/stock\/META\">META<\/a>)<\/strong> has partnered with <strong>Amazon Web Services (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMZN\">AMZN<\/a>)<\/strong> to utilize <strong>Graviton chips<\/strong> for the development of agentic AI.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Geopolitical Tensions Clash with Diplomatic Hopes<\/h2>\n<p>Global markets are reacting to a dual-track development in the Middle East as the U.S. intensifies its military blockade while diplomatic channels suddenly reopen. <strong>Secretary Hegseth<\/strong> confirmed that <strong>Operation Epic Fury<\/strong> has &quot;gone global,&quot; noting the seizure of two &quot;dark fleet&quot; ships and the deployment of a <strong>second aircraft carrier<\/strong> to enforce the blockade. Despite this escalation, <strong>Brent Crude<\/strong> fell to its lowest levels of the session following news that <strong>Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi<\/strong> is expected in <strong>Islamabad<\/strong> tonight.<\/p>\n<p>High-level sources suggest <strong>Pakistan<\/strong> could act as a guarantor for sticking points between <strong>Washington<\/strong> and <strong>Tehran<\/strong>. A high-ranking Pakistani government source estimated a &quot;serious breakthrough&quot; could occur today, potentially leading to a second round of negotiations. This <em>risk-on<\/em> sentiment has helped <strong>Nasdaq 100 futures<\/strong> climb <strong>1.23%<\/strong>, even as the <strong>U.K.<\/strong> remains firm on its stance regarding the conflict.<\/p>\n<h2>Intel Leads Tech Rally as Earnings Season Heats Up<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Intel (<a href=\"\/stock\/INTC\">INTC<\/a>)<\/strong> is the standout performer in early trading, with its stock price jumping <strong>30%<\/strong> after reporting strong data center and foundry growth. The company\u2019s outlook remains bullish, fueled by rising demand for <strong>AI-related CPUs<\/strong> and advanced manufacturing capabilities. This surge has provided a significant tailwind for the broader tech sector and <strong>NQ futures<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In the consumer and healthcare sectors, <strong>Procter &amp; Gamble (<a href=\"\/stock\/PG\">PG<\/a>)<\/strong> reported <strong>Q3 Core EPS of $1.59<\/strong>, beating estimates of <strong>$1.56<\/strong>, with organic revenue growth of <strong>3%<\/strong>. Similarly, <strong>HCA Healthcare (<a href=\"\/stock\/HCA\">HCA<\/a>)<\/strong> posted <strong>Q1 Adj. EPS of $7.15<\/strong>, surpassing the <strong>$7.10<\/strong> consensus. Both companies reaffirmed their full-year 2026 guidance, providing a sense of stability for value investors.<\/p>\n<h2>Energy and Healthcare M&amp;A Activity<\/h2>\n<p><strong>SLB (<a href=\"\/stock\/SLB\">SLB<\/a>)<\/strong> (formerly Schlumberger) reported <strong>Q1 revenue of $8.72 billion<\/strong>, slightly ahead of the <strong>$8.66 billion<\/strong> estimate, though its <strong>Adj. EBITDA of $1.77 billion<\/strong> fell just short of expectations. The energy services giant continues to see strong international revenue growth despite the volatility in crude prices.<\/p>\n<p>In the pharmaceutical space, <strong>Merck &amp; Co Inc (<a href=\"\/stock\/MRK\">MRK<\/a>)<\/strong> officially launched its cash tender offer for <strong>Terns Pharmaceuticals (<a href=\"\/stock\/TERN\">TERN<\/a>)<\/strong> at <strong>$53.00 per share<\/strong>. The announcement follows the expiration of the <strong>Hart-Scott-Rodino<\/strong> waiting period, clearing a major regulatory hurdle for the acquisition. Meanwhile, <strong>Meta (<a href=\"\/stock\/META\">META<\/a>)<\/strong> is deepening its infrastructure capabilities by teaming up with <strong>AWS<\/strong> to leverage <strong>Graviton chips<\/strong> for its next generation of <strong>agentic AI<\/strong> tools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Intel (INTC) shares skyrocketed 30% in pre-market trading following a stellar quarterly report and optimistic guidance driven by [&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":[16936,31,829,1067,1606,1947,3741,3785,4664,4824],"class_list":["post-61237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-tern","tag-intc","tag-slb","tag-mrk","tag-hca","tag-oil","tag-meta","tag-pg","tag-iran","tag-geopolitics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61237","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=61237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61237\/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=61237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}