US forces are preparing to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which roughly 20% of global oil supply transits daily, sending equity markets into a mixed session as traders weighed the energy and geopolitical fallout. The move would represent one of the most aggressive US naval postures in the region in decades, with direct implications for crude flows from Gulf producers including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, and Kuwait. Oil prices are the immediate transmission mechanism: any sustained restriction of Hormuz traffic would tighten global supply rapidly, pressuring refiners, airlines, and energy-intensive manufacturers while delivering a windfall to producers with alternative export routes. Equity markets split along sector lines, with energy shares rising on supply-shock expectations while broader indices absorbed the uncertainty. Investors will be watching whether Iran retaliates, whether Gulf allies coordinate a response, and how quickly crude benchmarks reprice a sustained disruption scenario.
Iranian armed forces attacked a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, briefly halting traffic through the waterway. The strike threatens a fragile US-Iran arrangement and could push shipping insurance costs and oil prices higher.
The US has struck Iran, with President Trump citing an Iranian attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz as justification. The action raises immediate risks for global oil flows through one of the world's most critical shipping chokepoints.
The US struck ten Iranian targets on the second consecutive day of military action, putting a fragile ceasefire under serious pressure. The escalation raises immediate risks for Gulf shipping, global oil supply, and regional stability.
Venezuela's twin earthquakes, magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, have killed at least 164 people and injured 971, interim president Delcy Rodriguez confirmed Thursday. The quakes are the country's strongest since 1900, collapsing buildings across Caracas and prompting a state of emergency, with the death toll expected to rise as
