In anticipation of an agreement between Washington and Tehran despite the U.S. embargo of Iranian shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Asia-Pacific markets rose Tuesday. While not formally broken, a U.S.-Iran ceasefire is gravely frayed, with both sides accusing the other of breaking it. After peace talks collapsed, the U.S. blocked ships from entering or exiting Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday to pressure Iran to reopen the oil conduit. The roadblock began around 10 am. The U.S. boycott will raise global oil prices, Iranian officials warned.

Enjoy current pump figures. With the ‘blockade’, Sunday’s X post by Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, predicted $4–$5 gas nostalgia. The West Texas Intermediate fell 2.80% to $96.31 per barrel at 03:30 am. Brent crude fell 1.22% to $98.14 a barrel. The small-cap Kosdaq rose 2% to 1,121.88 and the Kospi rose 2.74% to 5,967.75 on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 2.43% to 57,877.39, while the Topix rose 0.87% to 3,755.27. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% to 8,970.8. According to a National Australia Bank survey, business confidence in March fell due to concerns over the Iran war and global oil shock, as reported.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 index rose 1.19% to 4,701.28, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.88% in the final hour of trade. As Middle East supply problems raised commodity and energy prices, China’s export growth slowed in March, while imports grew at its quickest pace in four years. According to Chinese customs data, exports rose 2.5% in U.S. dollars last month, the slowest pace in six months. The figure fell short of a poll prediction of 8.6% and declined substantially from the first two months’ 21.8% gain.

Indian marketplaces were closed on holiday. Nearly flat S&P 500 futures. S&P 500 futures increased 0.06% while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 10 points, or 0.02%. Up roughly 0.2%, Nasdaq-100 futures. The S&P 500 gained on Monday as investors looked for a U.S.-Iran deal. Broad market index rose 1.02% to 6,886.24, its greatest close since pre-war. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.23% to 23,183.74. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 301.68 points, or 0.63%, to 48,218.25.