Market Commentary: Friday 10th April

US President Trump said he was optimistic about reaching a deal with Iran, but later also threatened Tehran with “charging fees” in the Strait of Hormuz. Investors are awaiting further clarification from the US–Iran talks to be held in Pakistan this coming Saturday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also agreed to hold direct talks with Lebanon next week. Meanwhile, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains a small fraction of pre-conflict levels, with shipowners staying cautious.

Equity sentiment is cautiously optimistic: the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.8%, S&P 500 futures are trading broadly flat, and FTSE 100 futures rose 0.15%. Brent crude is trading at $96 per barrel.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell are holding an urgent meeting with Wall Street leaders to discuss the potential risks of Anthropic’s latest AI model. Regulators are concerned about a new era of cyberattacks posing significant risks to the financial industry, with Anthropic’s “Mythos” described as a powerful system capable of exposing vulnerabilities in operating systems.

On today’s economic calendar, we have the US March CPI release at 1:30 PM and US April University of Michigan Sentiment at 3:00 PM.

• Bitcoin fell 0.3% to $72,195.13
• Ether fell 0.6% to $2,199.48
• Spot gold is little changed at $4,756.24/oz

**For professional investors only** Any opinions, news, research, analyses, prices, or other information contained in this blog is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute (and should not be construed as containing) investment advice or an investment recommendation, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. Some of this information may have been provided by third-party sources and, although believed to be reliable, it has not been independently verified and its accuracy or completeness cannot be guaranteed. No representation or warranty, expressed or implied, is made or given by or on behalf of iSAM Securities or its directors or any other person as to the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the information or opinions contained in this blog, and no responsibility or liability is accepted for any such information. As a result, any person acting on any information does so entirely at their own risk. iSAM Securities will not accept liability for any loss or damage, including without limitation to, any loss of profit, which may arise directly or indirectly from use of or reliance on such information.