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Wednesday, April 22, 2026
What’s happening: Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded higher this morning as investors continued monitoring tensions between the US and Iran.
What happened: US President Donald Trump announced that the ceasefire agreement with Iran had been extended “indefinitely.”
However, plans of a second round of peace talks between the two nations collapsed, with the US maintaining its blockade at the Strait of Hormuz.
Why it matters: US President Trump had threatened dire consequences if no deal is reached with Iran before the ceasefire agreement expires.
Market sentiment improved this morning, after Trump said late Tuesday that the US plans to “indefinitely” extend the Iran ceasefire. The announcement came a day before the ceasefire was set to expire.
Any new round of peace talks between the two nations remains on hold, with both nations accused the other of violating the ceasefire agreement by attacking vessels.
US Vice President JD Vance has cancelled his trip to Pakistan for the second round of peace talks, with Iran signalling that it was not ready to come to the table until the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz is removed. The blockade, which restricts maritime trade between Iran and other nations, is aimed at forcing the country to shut down its oil wells due to excess capacity building up at the Kharg Island, a hub handling around 90% of nation’s oil exports.
Data released this morning showed Japan’s trade surplus widened to ¥667.0 billion in March from ¥529.8 billion in the year-ago month. Although this was the second straight month of a surplus, the latest reading came in short of market estimates of ¥1,106 billion.
Exports surged 11.7% year-over-year to a record high of ¥11,003.3 billion, topping market estimates of 11% and accelerating from February’s 4.0% growth. The recent growth was driven by strong demand from the EU, ASEAN nations and China. Meanwhile, imports climbed 10.9% to ¥10,336.3 billion, accelerating from February’s 10.3% growth and beating market estimates of 7.1%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.35% to 59,557.71 this morning.
Shares of SoftBank Group and Advantest rose this morning, while shares of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and IHI Corp were among the top losers in the session.
What to watch: Investors will keep an eye on the developments related to the US-Iran war.
Data on S&P Global manufacturing PMI (0430 UAE Time), S&P Global services PMI (0430 UAE Time) and S&P Global Composite PMI (0430 UAE Time) will be released on Thursday. The S&P Global Japan manufacturing PMI, which was revised higher to 51.6 in March from a preliminary reading of 51.4, is expected to climb further to 51.8 in April.
Analysts expect Japan’s S&P Global services PMI to decline to 52 in April from 53.4 in the previous month, while S&P Global composite PMI is expected to fall to 51.4 in April from 53.0 in March.
Context: Crude oil prices fell this morning following the extension of the US-Iran ceasefire.
Details: US President announced an extension of the ceasefire agreement with Iran, just hours before the expiration of previous ceasefire deadline.
Meanwhile, the second round of peace talks collapsed after Iran signalled its non-participation. Iran also said that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed, while the US has refused to remove its blockade.
Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute released data showing US crude oil inventories declined by 4.40 million barrels in the week ended April 17, higher than market estimates of a draw of 1.0 million barrels. Gasoline inventories rose by 0.63 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles contracted 3.40 million barrels during the week.
Weakness in the US dollar lent support to oil prices, as a softer greenback makes commodities cheaper for foreign currency holders. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, slipped to 98.35 this morning.
Spot price for WTI crude oil declined 1.4% to $92.65 per barrel this morning, while Brent crude prices fell 1.2% to $99.25 per barrel.
In other commodities trading, gasoline fell 0.6% to $3.1918, while natural gas declined 0.5% to $2.684. Heating oil bucked the trend, rising 0.6% to $3.6563.
What to watch: Investors will continue monitoring developments in the peace talks between the US and Iran.
Data on the EIA’s crude oil stockpiles change (1830 UAE Time) will be released today. US crude inventories, which declined by 913,000 barrels to 463.8 million in the week ended April 10, are expected to fall by 1 million barrels in the latest week. Gasoline inventories fell by 6.3 million barrels to 232.9 million, while distillate stocks contracted by 3.1 million barrels to 111.6 million during the week.
Other Markets: US trading indices closed lower on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones index, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 down by 0.59%, 0.63% and 0.42%, respectively.
The EU is inching closer to unlock a loan of €90 billion to Ukraine to help in its war with Russia. The news sent the USD/RUB pair higher in forex trading this morning.
Moody’s Ratings lowered India’s FY2027 growth outlook from 6.8% to 6%, lending support to the USD/INR forex pair.
South Korea’s producer prices surged 4.1% year-over-year in March. This being the strongest growth in three years sent the USD/KRW pair lower in forex trading this morning.
Australia’s Westpac–Melbourne Institute Leading Economic Index fell 0.1% in March, coming in flat at the previous month’s reading, which exerted pressure on the AUD/USD forex pair.
Colombia’s trade deficit shrank to $1.53 billion in February from $1.55 billion in the year-ago period, sending the USD/COP pair lower in forex trading this morning.
South Africa’s inflation rate (1200 UAE Time) and retail sales (1500 UAE Time), Eurozone’s government budget to GDP (1300 UAE Time), government debt to GDP (1300 UAE Time), and consumer confidence (1800 UAE Time), Turkey’s interest rate decision (1500 UAE Time), US MBA mortgage applications (1500 UAE Time), EIA gasoline stocks change (1830 UAE Time), EIA distillate stocks change (1830 UAE Time), EIA heating oil stocks change (1830 UAE Time), India’s monetary policy meeting minutes (1530 UAE Time), Canada’s new housing price index (1630 UAE Time), Russia’s industrial production (2000 UAE Time) and PPI (2000 UAE Time), as well as Argentina’s economic activity (2300 UAE Time).
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