Iran responds to Trump's claim of victory SpaceX aims for a $2 trillion valuation | Global Markets

Overnight Stock Market

In the afternoon of Thursday in U.S. Eastern Time, all three major U.S. stock indexes finished mixed; the Dow fell 0.13%, the Nasdaq rose 0.18%, and the S&P 500 rose 0.11%.

Against a backdrop of wild swings in trading, investors weighed conflicting reports and statements related to the Iran war. Oil prices jumped sharply, while global equities showed a split performance.

BCA Research analyst Felix-Antoine Vezina-Poirier said: “Over the past 48 hours, a large number of contradictory signals have been released between Iran and the United States, and some suggest the situation may ease.”

He added: “Our geopolitical macro strategy team recommends that when interpreting highly volatile news, you focus on facts: first, shipping volumes through the Strait of Hormuz have picked up over the past few days; second, whether Iran intends to shift its strike targets from Gulf states to Israel.”

Jon Withaar of Pictet Asset Management said: “The market will turn back toward a defensive posture, because conflict may still continue for the next 2-3 weeks. At the same time, Trump’s remarks have not ruled out actions by ground forces, and he reiterated that infrastructure could be targeted.”

Commodity Markets

WTI May crude oil futures rose by $11.42, with the gain exceeding 11.40%, to $111.54 per barrel. Brent June crude oil futures rose by $7.87, up nearly 7.78%, to $109.03 per barrel.

COMEX gold futures for the current-month contract fell by $110.40, down 2.29%, to $4,702.7 per ounce. COMEX silver futures for the current-month contract fell by $2.91, down 3.82%, to $73.17 per ounce.

Market News

【Iran Responds to Trump’s So-Called Victory】

On the evening of April 1 local time, U.S. President Trump delivered a speech in which he unilaterally claimed a “quick, decisive, overwhelming victory” in the conflict with Iran. In response, Hazratati, chairman of the Iranian government information commission, said in an interview with Iranian official media on April 2 that Trump’s speech was “pure nonsense.” Hazratati said Iran’s missile capability is “increasing day by day,” and that Iran has stockpiled large numbers of missiles in different locations; Iran’s enriched uranium is “safe and sound”; and the Strait of Hormuz remains under Iran’s control. He also emphasized that the strikes by the U.S. and Israel have strengthened unity among the Iranian people and cohesion among officials.

【Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Call Emphasizing the Need to Halt the War in the Middle East as Soon as Possible】

Russian President Putin spoke by phone on the 2nd with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman to discuss the rapid escalation of the current military conflict in the Middle East and its impact. The Kremlin said the two sides emphasized that the fighting must be halted as soon as possible. According to a statement released on the Kremlin’s website, the two sides expressed serious concern about the deterioration of the military and political situation in the Middle East, civilian casualties, and damage to important strategic facilities, and emphasized that the fighting must be halted as soon as possible. They also stressed that due consideration should be given to the legitimate interests of all parties, and that political and diplomatic efforts should be intensified to achieve a long-term resolution of the dispute. Putin and Mohammed bin Salman noted that the energy extraction and transportation problems triggered by the current crisis are having a negative impact on global energy security. Therefore, the two sides emphasized the importance of Russia and Saudi Arabia working together under the “OPEC+” framework to stabilize the world oil market.

【Brother of Larijani: The Strait of Hormuz Will Not Return to Pre-War Conditions】

Sadiq Larijani, the brother of the late Ali Larijani and chairman of Iran’s National Interests Commission, said in a social media post on the 2nd that the United States would be best advised to avoid taking futile actions and that the Strait of Hormuz will not return to pre-war conditions. He wrote: “The evolution of the regional situation has gone beyond the scope of traditional war; we are entering a critical moment in the rebuilding of the global order and the reshaping of the balance of power.” Sadiq Larijani said Iran’s current counterattack is not only at the strategic level, but also a battle for survival to ensure that its civilization is not destroyed.

【U.S. Military Bombs an Iranian Bridge; Further Strikes on Infrastructure May Follow】

For the first time, the U.S. military attacked major civilian infrastructure in Iran on Thursday local time. Just a few hours earlier, Trump threatened to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Age.” The strike on the B-1 bridge in Karaj, near Tehran, indicates that the target scope of the U.S. military’s strikes is expanding, which may be just the beginning of attacks on energy, water, and transportation infrastructure.

【U.S. Announces 100% Tariffs on Imported Patented Drugs and Pharmaceutical Ingredients】

A notice released by the White House on the 2nd said that President Trump signed a document that day, under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, imposing 100% tariffs on imported patented drugs and pharmaceutical ingredients. The measure also provides a path for exemptions or tariff reductions, aiming to pressure pharmaceutical companies to reach agreements with the White House on drug pricing and the reshoring of industry, among other things.

【Blue Owl Fund Under Its Umbrella Faces Large-Scale Redemptions】

The private credit industry’s trust crisis is still spreading. On Thursday local time, Blue Owl Capital sent a letter to shareholders saying that two of the company’s private credit funds are facing a surge in redemption requests. Blue Owl said that its flagship fund OCIC (managing assets of about $36 billion) received redemption requests in the first quarter totaling about 21.9% of issued units; for OTIC, a smaller fund focused on the technology sector, the proportion of redemption requests in the same period was as high as 40.7%. For both funds, Blue Owl chose to set a cap on the actual redemption percentage at 5%. The company attributed the abnormal increase in redemption requests to “worsening concerns in the market that AI could impact software companies.”

【Amazon’s Middle East Cloud Computing Center Hit; More Infrastructure Becomes a Target】

On Thursday local time, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had carried out an attack on an Amazon cloud computing center located in Bahrain as retaliation for earlier U.S. military actions. The IRGC statement said: “This operation is the first practical warning delivered to the enemy. If the relevant warnings are ignored and assassination operations continue, we will impose harsher punishment on the next batch of companies that have been identified by name. At that time, all responsibility for the total destruction of these companies in the region will be borne personally by the U.S. president.”

【SpaceX Poised to Push for a $2 Trillion Valuation, Surpassing Meta and Tesla】

According to people familiar with the matter, SpaceX has raised its target valuation for its initial public offering to more than $2 trillion. These people said the company and its advisors are sharing this valuation target with potential investors as preparation for meetings over the next few weeks. As previously reported by foreign media, these so-called “test-the-waters” briefings may include more information supporting the valuation. In February, it was reported that after SpaceX acquired Musk’s xAI, the valuation of the combined company was $1.25 trillion. At a $2 trillion valuation, SpaceX would surpass all companies in the S&P 500 except Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet (the parent of Google), Microsoft, and Amazon, and would also surpass two additional companies among the U.S. stock “Magnificent Seven”—Meta and Tesla, which is also owned by Musk.

【Federal Reserve’s Williams: Inflation and Employment Risks Are Becoming Balanced, Inclined to Hold Steady】

New York Fed Chair Williams said the inflation and employment risks driven by rising energy prices have moved toward a “balance,” and he is inclined to support keeping interest rates unchanged. Williams said: “Monetary policy, through the actions we took last year and our current stance, has in fact been fully prepared to balance these risks—this is what we need to do.” Williams also said he believes losses in private credit (the non-bank lending space) will not create systemic risk, even though some investors in that space have already demanded early redemptions. Williams said this is mainly because the underlying loans are being repriced. He said: “I don’t think it will be a systemic risk to our financial system at this point.” He also noted that policymakers are “closely watching” banks’ risk exposures. When asked whether certain private credit funds could be considered “too big to fail,” he replied: “Absolutely not.”