The latest Market Talks covering Energy and Utilities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET. Friday's slew of IPO filings goes well beyond Cerebras Systems, the AI company valued at about $23 billion earlier this year, and includes at least two more companies that stalled previous plans to go public. Blackstone-backed Liftoff Mobile, which focuses on app marketing and monetization, postponed its offering in February due to market conditions, according to Barron's, but it renewed its plans with a confidential filing later that month. Odyssey Therapeutics's filing follows a confidential filing also in February, and the withdrawal of a prior IPO plan in June. Also filing for IPOs to end the week were KKR-backed Global Medical Response and geothermal energy provider Fervo Energy, whose investors include Devon Energy and Google.(josh.beckerman@wsj.com)
2145 GMT - Moody's Ratings said it has changed its outlook on Iraq and on Bahrain, with both countries receiving a negative outlook in the face of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Fighting in the region will aggravate persistent deterioration in Bahrain's underlying credit metrics, according to Moody's. In addition, shipping and air disruptions are affecting the country's hydrocarbon and aluminium exports, Moody's said. In the case of Iraq, disruptions to oil shipments will reduce dollar inflows and fiscal revenues, Moody's said. There is also the risk Iraq will become more directly entangled in the regional conflict, Moody's added. (stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com)
1930 GMT - Oil futures fall to their lowest level since March 10 after Iran said it's allowing all commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and President Trump said the U.S. is helping Iran to remove all mines from the waterway. Even if everything goes well, disruption to supply chains will be longer lasting, says Neil Crosby of Sparta Commodities. With weeks or months of repair work ahead it's possible prices don't return to prewar levels for a long time. With storage tanks at maximum capacity in the Gulf there's immediately available supply, although it could take well over a month to get ships in, loaded, and on their way to their destimations," he says. "Only when they start to clear the tank tops do we start to have the restart at refineries, and the restart of wellhead production sites."WTI settles down 11% at $83.85 a barrel and Brent falls 9.1% to $90.38.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1808 GMT - San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly says fallout from an energy shock is more likely to show up in inflation than in growth. Because the U.S. is less energy-dependent, the impact is more evident in prices as consumers pay more at the pump. Still, she worries potential for a longer shock may chip away at consumers' disposable income and lead to slower demand. "Being in a wait-and-see-the-data mode-and wait and see how the conflict resolves-is a really nice place to be," she says regarding the policy outlook at UC Berkeley's Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics' Spring 2026 Policy Advisory Board meeting. (jessica.coacci@wsj.com)
1730 GMT - The number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. slipped by one this week to 410, or 63 fewer than a year ago, Baker Hughes reports. The plunge in oil prices on Iran's reopening the Strait of Hormuz illustrates why producers are slow to ramp up drilling on what may be short-term oil price spikes. "Producers in the U.S. are able to respond much more quickly to changes in prices than those elsewhere," Kieran Tompkins of Capital Economics says in a note. But so far, "large U.S. producers have indicated a reluctance to invest in new production when there is a reasonable chance that prices could decline sharply before output is brought online." Rigs directed at natural gas this week are down by two at 125, and up by 19 from a year ago. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1653 GMT - Toronto's indexes rise in-step with global markets as Iran says it will keep the Strait of Hormuz open during the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire. Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index rises 0.9% to 34352 and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 is up 0.7% to 1993. The easing of pressure in the region sends oil prices sharply lower, dragging Canadian energy stocks to the bottom of the index. Those losses are offset by strength primarily in materials stocks, lifted by higher gold prices, along with gains in commercial services and transportation stocks, helping keep the broader market in positive territory. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1634 GMT - The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is a significant step toward restarting transit through the waterway and ending the war, Capital Economics' James Reilly says in a note. "It moves developments closer to our baseline scenario for the conflict, which envisages an end to hostilities and a normalization of shipping by the end of this month," he says. Both this month's rallies in stocks and bonds have further to run if things progress broadly in line with the baseline scenario, Reilly says. Still, this leaves government bond yields far higher than at the outset of the war, with the 10-year Treasury yield only having unwound half of its rise, he notes. (edward.frankl@wsj.com)
1617 GMT - Crude oil prices might come under pressure this summer if agreements in the Middle East hold and supply is restored, since lost demand is likely to take longer to recover, says Dennis Kissler of BOK Financial. "The U.S. is a bit immune to demand destruction because they haven't felt the pain like Europe has, and parts of Asia." With built-up supply expected to come to market, and weaker global demand, "summer months are susceptible to some sharply lower prices," he adds. "The market may be pricing that in now." (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1609 GMT - Oil futures sink as Iran says the Strait of Hormuz is open to all shipping for the duration of the cease-fire and President Trump reiterates that a deal is expected soon. But even with the strait open, "the physical market is not going to be able to correct as quickly as what the market is showing," says BOK Financial's Dennis Kissler. "We've still got a logistics problem that's going to take at least 30 days to correct, to get the oil half-way in transit to where it needs to go." The market does need to move a little lower, "but the front-month futures are overdoing the break from where the physicals are going to be." WTI for May delivery is off 12% at $83.01 a barrel and June Brent is down 11% at $88.82.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1457 GMT - Some grain traders are moving out of long positions ahead of the weekend after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz is open for transit. "I do think today we are seeing an exodus of weak longs," says Karl Setzer of Consus Ag Consulting. Last week's CFTC Commitments of Traders report showed large reductions in long positions among managed money fund traders. The market is watching to see what headlines emerge over the weekend, says Setzer. "There are a lot of unknowns," he says. "Next Monday could be interesting." CBOT corn is down 0.9%, soybeans fall 0.5%, and wheat is off 2.2%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1445 GMT - Air Canada climbs as a sharp drop in oil prices lifts sentiment toward airlines. Iran's foreign minister says the Strait of Hormuz will remain open during the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, sending crude down 11% and unwinding the risk premium that had pushed fuel costs higher. Airlines have been under pressure on concerns that elevated jet-fuel prices will squeeze margins and curb demand as carriers are forced to raise fares. Air Canada is currently up 4.2%, offering a reprieve after weeks of volatility tied to geopolitical tensions and fluctuating energy markets. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1427 GMT - The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, announced by Iran, "is the risk-on signal the global markets have been waiting for," 21share's Matt Mena writes. The news took the floor from under oil prices, which are tumbling 11%. Investors also sell off the dollar and the WSJ Dollar Index falls 0.4%. Stock indexes rally. "By removing one of the most significant geopolitical chokepoints in the world," Mena says, "Iran has effectively uncorked a massive wave of liquidity and investor confidence." He expects inflation fears to fade away. (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 18, 2026 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)
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