🌅 MORNING UPDATE - April 22, 2026 NordFX Market Briefing

🇺🇸 Wall Street - Tuesday Close U.S. stocks fell for a second session as Iran-U.S. peace talks hit an impasse. The S&P 500 lost 0.63% to close at 7,064, the Nasdaq shed 0.59% to 24,259, and the Dow dropped 293 points (-0.59%) to 49,149. A planned diplomatic meeting in Pakistan was called off after Tehran declined to send representatives. After the close, President Trump extended the ceasefire, saying Iran's leadership is "seriously fractured," keeping talks alive.

📈 US Futures - Wednesday Pre-Market A modest rebound is underway. S&P 500 futures are up ~0.17%, Dow futures +0.31%, Nasdaq futures +0.11%. Markets are cautious but stabilizing.

🌏 Asian Markets - Wednesday Session Asia is mixed as ceasefire extension news is offset by ongoing Strait of Hormuz concerns:

• 🇯🇵 Nikkei 225 hit a new all-time record of 59,691 on strong export data - Japan's trade surplus for March came in at 667 billion yen. The Topix, however, fell 0.63%.
• 🇰🇷 Kospi slipped 0.14% on profit-taking after hitting a record high on Tuesday. The Kosdaq dropped 0.81%. South Korean producer prices rose at their fastest pace in over 3 years.
• 🇨🇳 CSI 300 gained 0.30%. Hang Seng declined 1.32%.
• 🇮🇳 Nifty 50 slipped 0.48%, weighed by HCL Technologies earnings miss.
• 🇦🇺 ASX 200 was 0.94% lower.

🛢️ Oil WTI stayed above $89/bbl on Wednesday, with peace talks stalled and the Strait of Hormuz still largely blocked. Demand destruction estimates are approaching 4-5 million barrels per day - about 5% of global supply. Brent slipped from the $95-$96 range as Iran signaled it may eventually rejoin negotiations.

🥇 Gold Trading around $4,759/oz as of Wednesday. The metal is consolidating - supported by geopolitical risk, but capped by expectations the Fed will hold rates at 3.50-3.75% at its April 28-29 meeting.

💱 EUR/USD Trading around 1.1742, near recent session lows. The dollar is finding support from safe-haven flows and elevated energy-driven inflation expectations.

₿ Bitcoin BTC is trading around $75,800-76,500, up ~1.6% in the last 24 hours, with crypto sentiment mildly positive on the ceasefire extension news.

📅 Key Events Today

• 🗓 Flash PMI data - Manufacturing & Services (US & Eurozone)
• 🛢 Weekly crude oil inventories (US)
• 🏦 FOMC next meeting: April 28-29 (rate hold at 3.50-3.75% expected at 99.5% probability)

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