Squawk Box Europe Express

President Trump pauses the ‘Project Freedom’ operation after revealing that progress has been achieved on a potential deal with Tehran to end the conflict. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says reopening the Strait of Hormuz is paramount, not military action. Equity markets respond positively to the news. In Asia, south Korea’s KOSPI rallies by more than 7 per cent with A.I. and chips stocks leading the way. Novo Nordisk is up ahead of the market open and hikes its guidance. The Danish pharma giant’s Wegovy weight-loss pill sales are up by more than DKK1bn.
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The U.S.-Iranian ceasefire agreement is in danger of falling apart after Tehran targets ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The flare-up sees the UAE also engage Iranian missile and drone fire. Unicredit hikes its guidance after delivering its highest quarterly profit ever. Investor focus is now on the Italian lender’s tender off for Commerzbank due from 11am today. CEO Andrea Orcel tells CNBC he has made his intentions clear to Commerzbank shareholders. HSBC Q1 profit comes in relatively flat at $9.4bn, saying it expects credit losses. However CFO Pam Kaur tells CNBC she remains unfazed by the nature of the bank’s credit trends.
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U.S. President Donald Trump pledges to help guide stranded tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, using as many as 15,000 troops and 100 aircraft. The European Commission is mulling a response after President Trump threatened to hike tariffs on European cars to 25 per cent after accusing the bloc of non-compliance with the trade deal struck last July. European leaders arrive in Yerevan, Armenia for the latest European Political Community summit. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to discuss plans for the country to join the EU’s $90bn loan scheme to Ukraine.
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Both the ECB and the BoE decided to hold interest rates steady but warn that a June hike could be on the cards should inflation pressures connected to the Iran crisis escalate. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq notch their strongest month for six years as investors look beyond the Middle East and bet on Big Tech’s A.I. progression. Apple shares are up in after-hours trade following a top and bottom line beat for the quarter. And Brent recedes back from its four-year high but remains well above the $100-mark following comments from President Trump vowing to maintain the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
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Brent crude oil hits a war-time record of more than $123 per barrel after Axios reports U.S. President Trump is to be briefed on potential further strikes on Iran after rejecting Tehran’s offer to re-open the Strait of Hormuz. The ECB and BoE are both expected to hold rates steady later today, following on from the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep rates steady. Chairman Jerome Powell is likely to have held his final FOMC meeting which saw the highest level of dissent since 1992. U.S. futures are in the red but eh Nasdaq celebrates Big Tech earnings. Meta, however, hikes its capex guidance once more, planning an A.I. spending spree and reports its first-ever quarterly fall in active users. European equities will also start the day on the back foot with the FTSE spared the worst of the sell-off due to the rise in oil prices.
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