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Oil Jumps, Stocks Slip as Global Markets Flinch at Fragile Iran Ceasefire

World markets stepped back Monday, April 20, as a burst of anxiety over the U.S.-Iran ceasefire and renewed stress around the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil sharply higher and knocked stocks off their recent records. By the end of the U.S. regular trading session, Wall Street had lost some momentum, Europe finished lower, and investors were once again trading the same fear that has haunted markets for weeks: energy disruption.

Oil was the day’s loudest signal. Brent crude settled at about $95.48 a barrel, up 5.64%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate settled near $89.61, up 6.87%, as traders reacted to worries that the ceasefire may not hold and that shipping through Hormuz could remain badly impaired. Traffic through the strait remained thin, underscoring why the market moved so violently.

Stocks, by contrast, lost altitude but did not collapse. The Dow fell 96.79 points, or 0.20%, the S&P 500 dropped 22.61 points, or 0.32%, and the Nasdaq lost 99.97 points, or 0.41%. That decline was enough to end the Nasdaq’s 13-session winning streak, its longest since 1992. The retreat was modest, but the message was clear: investors were willing to take some money off the table after a powerful rally to record highs.

Europe looked shakier. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.8%, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 each dropped about 1.1%, as higher oil and a possible wider Middle East disruption weighed on sentiment. Energy shares rose, helped by the crude spike, but travel, leisure, airlines and other oil-sensitive sectors came under pressure.

Other markets also reflected a more defensive mood. The U.S. dollar strengthened, Treasury yields rose, and gold actually slipped, with spot gold down about 0.4% and U.S. gold futures down 1%, showing that investors were not simply buying every traditional safe haven at once. Instead, the dominant trade was inflation fear through oil.

As for the current status: the regular U.S. stock market is closed now. The main trading session ended at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, while after-hours trading continues into the evening. That means the headline moves are already in, but investors are still reacting around the edges as the news cycle keeps shifting.

For the rest of the week, the market’s focus appears split between geopolitics and earnings. Investors are heading into a heavy earnings stretch featuring major companies such as Tesla, Boeing, Intel and Procter & Gamble, while also watching Washington for signals on monetary policy and inflation. There is growing concern that if oil stays elevated, it could keep inflation hotter for longer, pressure Treasury yields, and weigh on consumers just as gasoline prices remain painfully high.

So the verdict from Monday was this: the world did not panic, but it definitely recoiled. Oil screamed danger, Europe blinked, Wall Street finally paused, and the week now hinges on two things — whether Hormuz calms down, and whether corporate earnings are strong enough to keep traders looking past the smoke.