Significant news has emerged regarding the Middle East situation. International crude oil opened lower on April 21st, while international gold and silver saw modest rebounds.
In US stock markets, the three major indices all closed slightly down. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.26%, ending a 13-day winning streak. The S&P 500 index declined by 0.24%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.01%.
Regarding individual stocks, Intel dropped over 4%. Tesla and Meta fell more than 2%. AMD, Broadcom, Microsoft, and Google each declined over 1%. US company Apple announced the appointment of internal executive John Ternus, who has long overseen hardware operations, as its next Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Tim Cook, who has led the company since 2011. Apple stated that Cook will transition to the role of Executive Chairman.
For Chinese concept stocks, the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closed down 0.32%. Nio fell over 2%. XPeng Group, iQiyi, and New Oriental declined more than 1%. Baidu and Li Auto rose over 1%.
International oil prices retreated, with WTI crude falling over 1% at the time of writing.
Following last night's declines, international gold and silver rebounded slightly during early trading on April 21st.
A major development was reported concerning the Middle East situation. Reports indicate that within the coming days, a scenario is expected where three US aircraft carrier strike groups are simultaneously deployed in the Middle East region.
It is understood that the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group is already deployed in the Gulf of Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz, participating in maritime blockade operations. The USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group is positioned in the northern Red Sea. The USS George H.W. Bush carrier strike group, which opted to detour around Africa, is moving north from the southeastern direction of Africa and is expected to enter the Arabian Sea. This carrier will likely relieve the USS Ford of its duties. In the short term, the US military may have three aircraft carriers deployed simultaneously in the Middle East.
Navigation through the Strait of Hormuz continues to be closely watched. According to a British report on the 20th, at least 26 vessels involved in Iranian shipping have breached the US blockade. Reports state that since the US military began blockading vessels entering and leaving Iranian ports on the 13th, the vessels that have broken through include 11 tankers carrying Iranian cargo.
On April 20th local time, former US President Donald Trump stated on a social media platform that he would never lift this blockade (on Iran) until an "agreement" is reached.
The US military began blockading vessels entering and leaving Iranian ports on the 13th. The US Central Command stated on the 14th that it had "completely cut off Iran's maritime import and export economic trade." Iran announced on the 17th that it was opening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping, but subsequently announced on the 18th that, given the US had not lifted its maritime blockade on Iran, Iran was resuming control over passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
According to a senior Iranian official on the 20th, Pakistan is currently actively mediating, striving to persuade the United States to lift its maritime blockade on Iran to ensure Iran's participation in negotiations.
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