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

columnist for Reuters.)

By Mike Dolan

April 20 (Reuters) -

What matters in U.S. and global markets today

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

Stop-go, stop-go. Friday's market exuberance at the opening of

the Strait of Hormuz was doused again on Monday as the weekend

saw Iran turn its green light to red again because of the United

States' continued blockade of Iranian ports.

The tension built as Iranian troops fired on tankers and the

U.S. seized an Iranian cargo ship. Exactly what was agreed on

Friday before Iran temporarily reopened the waterway is neither

clear to markets nor the two belligerents - or so it seems.

I'll get into that and more below.

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

podcast, where I discuss tech's continued momentum and fresh

political turmoil in Britain.

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GREEN LIGHT, RED LIGHT

Further peace talks may be on the cards this week with U.S.

envoys reportedly heading to Islamabad on Monday, although

Tehran has said it will not participate. The existing two-week

ceasefire between the sides is set to expire on Wednesday.

As for oil prices, the 9% drop on Friday was followed by a 5%

rebound on Monday. However, crude prices remain below $100 per

barrel, and some 20 ships managed to pass through the contested

strait on Saturday - the most since March 1.

Stock markets in Asia were much less disturbed by the weekend

tensions than they have been by similar news over the past few

months. Perhaps they are riffing in part on Wall Street's gains

of more than 1% on Friday and the 13th straight day of gains for

the tech-heavy Nasdaq - the first time that's happened since

1992. Unlucky 13?

Tech optimism is once again overwhelming geopolitical concerns -

or is even being partly driven by them. Tesla on Wednesday will

be the first of the so-called Magnificent Seven to report

first-quarter earnings.

Meantime, European shares slipped early on Monday, Wall Street

futures edged down, and the dollar rebounded.

More broadly, however, there's a sense that despite the back

and forth in the Gulf over the weekend, the beginning of the end

of the conflict may now be in sight, even if it takes weeks or

months to get physical oil supplies back to normal.

Elsewhere, China left its key interest rates unchanged on

Monday, while British markets are watching as pressure grows

again on Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Starmer will speak to Parliament later today on what he did - or

didn't - know about the security vetting of former U.S.

ambassador Peter Mandelson, who was sacked last September over

links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Markets appear less concerned about a new election than by

the prospect of Starmer being unseated by his own ruling Labour

Party.

Chart of the day

Even if the guns fall silent, flows through the narrow Strait of

Hormuz will take months - and possibly years - to recover to

pre-war levels. A full rebalancing of the global tanker fleet

and a return of Gulf loading operations to pre-war rhythms will

likely take at least eight to 12 weeks, even under benign

conditions, writes ROI Energy Columnist Ron Bousso.

Today's events to watch

* Canada March CPI (8:30 a.m. EDT)

* U.S. envoys due to arrive in Islamabad for reported talks

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

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committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.