(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a

columnist for Reuters.)

By Mike Dolan

April 22 (Reuters) -

What matters in U.S. and global markets today

By Mike Dolan, Editor-at-Large, Finance and Markets

President Donald Trump unilaterally extended the Iran war

ceasefire beyond Wednesday's deadline, but it's not clear

whether anyone else involved in the conflict has agreed. That

partly explains why crude oil prices have not reacted

significantly in response to what would otherwise be seen as a

relief signal.

I'll get into that and more below.

But first, check out my latest column on why Kevin Warsh may

struggle to please President Trump as Fed Chair.

And listen to the latest episode of the Morning Bid daily

podcast, where I discuss oil's reaction to the ceasefire

extension and more.

Finally, don't forget to mark April 23 in your calendar, when

⁠I'll be joining my ROI colleague Jamie McGeever for a timely

webinar discussion on rethinking safe-haven assets in uncertain

times. Sign up here.

ANOTHER DEADLINE DODGED

Brent crude prices edged up on Wednesday to just under $100 per

barrel, while WTI crude traded at around $91/bbl. Iran has

claimed that the U.S. blockade of its ports, which Trump said

would continue, is a breach of the ceasefire and that the Strait

of Hormuz would remain closed as a result.

There are reports of cargo ships in the waterway being fired

upon again this morning, and it's unclear when - or if - fresh

talks between the two sides will commence.

Nevertheless, world stock markets and Wall Street futures are

more upbeat about an eventual de-escalation - as they have been

for most of the past week - and are looking elsewhere for

direction.

Most obviously, they're looking in the effervescent tech space.

South Korean, Japanese and Taiwanese stocks continued to set new

highs overnight, with Korea's chip giant SK Hynix breaking into

the top 20 of the world's most valuable companies.

Tesla's results after the bell tonight will likely focus on

the firm's energy and solar business, robotaxi plans and its

proposed move into chip design. Intel, the big mover of the

month, will also report on Thursday. A 50% stock price gain in

April so far makes it one of the best months for the chip giant

on record.

Wall Street index futures edged up ahead of Wednesday's

bell.

The other focus of the past 24 hours was Fed Chair nominee Kevin

Warsh's confirmation hearing in Congress. There were few big

surprises, and Treasury markets and the dollar remained steady

afterwards.

Warsh insisted he had not been asked by Trump to commit to

interest rate cuts and concentrated instead on his plans for

"regime change" in the Fed's policymaking framework and his

longer-term wish for the Fed's balance sheet to be reduced.

Just before Warsh spoke, Trump said he would be disappointed if

his new appointee did not deliver immediate rate cuts - but with

price pressures back on the boil, that looks like a distant

hope. Markets see less than a 50% chance of the Fed resuming

easing for the rest of the year.

Meanwhile, March U.S. retail sales were up more than forecast,

even when big gas pump receipts are stripped out. The broader

economy seems to have weathered the oil shock so far - at least

for one month.

Elsewhere, UK inflation for March came in higher than expected -

rising to 3.3% from 3.0% the prior month - but core prices

excluding energy were more subdued.

Chart of the day

Shares in U.S. chipmaker Intel have soared more than 50% in

the past month and have more than trebled in the past year as

demand for its chips and servers soars amid the worldwide AI

buildout, and after the U.S. government and Nvidia took stakes

in the once-struggling firm last year.

Intel is due to report earnings on Thursday amid fears of a

chip shortage - but this month it expanded its AI CPU

partnership with Google and joined Elon Musk's Terafab AI chip

complex project to make processors.

Today's events to watch

* U.S. 20-year bond auction (1 p.m. EDT)

* U.S. corporate earnings: Tesla, IBM, Moody's

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Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect

the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is

committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.