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

columnist for Reuters.)

By Anna Szymanski

April 7 (Reuters) -

What matters in U.S. and global markets today

By Anna Szymanski, Editor-in-Charge, Reuters Open Interest

Markets are once again held in suspense as traders count down to

President Donald Trump's latest deadline for Iran to reopen the

Strait of Hormuz, with global stocks mixed and oil prices

choppy.

Tehran, for its part, has refused to reopen the vital waterway

and accept a ceasefire deal, despite the U.S. president's

threats that Iran could be "taken out in one night", leaving

investors braced for the possibility that Trump's latest

combative warning could harden into action - or, on the other

hand, lead to yet another deadline.

I'll get into that and more below.

But first, listen to the latest episode of the Morning Bid daily

podcast. Subscribe to hear Reuters journalists discuss the

biggest news in markets and finance seven days a week.

FINAL COUNTDOWN?

As much of the financial world returned from the long holiday

weekend on Tuesday, investors appeared to be in a wait-and-see

mode with Trump's latest deadline for Iran - 8 p.m. EDT tonight

- drawing closer.

Oil prices moved around early on Tuesday, with Brent crude

initially rising to over $111 per barrel before paring those

gains. U.S. WTI crude is hovering around $113/bbl after briefly

topping $116.

Equities also got off to a cautious start, with major Asian

indexes largely flat, despite a lift in the mood early in the

session after a record-breaking quarterly profit forecast from

Samsung Electronics. European shares rose after the open.

Major U.S. indexes rose on Monday, partly because traders were

heartened by reports of continued discussions about a potential

ceasefire. While that optimism faded after Tehran rejected a

short-term truce, mediation by Pakistan is reportedly

continuing. U.S. stock futures were roughly flat before the

bell.

The greenback dipped slightly but remained broadly firm, with

the dollar index hovering just under the 100 level after hitting

its highest level since May 2025 last week. The yen, on the

other hand, continues to languish near the 160-per-dollar level.

Recent macro signals from the U.S. are adding a layer of

complexity as traders mull the wider impacts of the Iran energy

shock.

The latest survey results from the Institute for Supply

Management, released on Monday, showed that U.S. services sector

growth slowed in March while prices paid by businesses for

inputs rose by the most in more than 13 years - an early sign of

rising inflation pressures amid the war. For more on that front,

we'll have to wait for U.S. March CPI inflation figures set for

release this Friday.

No matter what that release shows, the global economic outlook

appears to be darkening, with the IMF warning on Monday that

"all roads" lead to higher prices and slower growth, according

to remarks made by its head, Kristalina Georgieva.

Ultimately, the big question - yet again - is whether

Trump's latest deadline will result in the conflict being ramped

up or down. We'll all have to wait and see.

Chart of the day

The world's largest memory chipmaker today announced an

estimated operating profit of 57.2 trillion won ($37.92 billion)

for the January to March period, compared with an LSEG

SmartEstimate of 40.6 trillion won and a more than eightfold

jump from 6.69 trillion won a year earlier.

Today's events to watch

* U.S. February durable goods (8:30 a.m. EDT)

* U.S. 3-year note auction (1:00 p.m. EDT)

* Fed's Philip Jefferson, Chicago Fed's Austan Goolsbee, and

San Francisco Fed's Mary Daly all speak

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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.