Source: Insider - Trump considering joint venture with Iran to charge tolls on the Hormuz Strait

April 9 (Investinglive) — Gold rose yesterday after the U.S. and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire, as easing financial conditions supported broader risk appetite. Gains were later erased, however, after Israel launched an attack on Lebanon — a move Iran strongly responded to, noting Lebanon was already covered by the ceasefire agreement. The ceasefire remains in effect, and the first round of U.S.-Iran talks will be held in Islamabad; the talks could be extended if both sides agree. Conflict restart risks persist, as the U.S. and Iran have not formally ended hostilities. Still, traders are repricing hawkish expectations, shifting gold’s short-term bias more bullish. A failed negotiation and renewed war, however, could quickly reverse market sentiment.

April 9: Following former President Trump’s announcement of a two-week temporary ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, market risk sentiment improved rapidly, driving sharp rebounds in the three major U.S. stock indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged over 1,300 points in a single session—its best one-day performance in nearly a year—while WTI crude oil futures plummeted more than 16%. Fundstrat Global Advisors Head of Research Tom Lee noted the market has confirmed a phased bottom and is on track to retest historical highs. He emphasized the stock market showed strong resilience, holding up despite prior spikes in oil prices and escalating tensions—making the ceasefire a catalyst for sentiment reversal. Lee projects the S&P 500 could climb to 7,300 points this year, implying roughly 7.6% upside from current levels. He’s bullish on the tech, software, energy, and financial sectors, with the “Magnificent Seven” tech giants seen as the core drivers of this rebound. Sever

April 9th (Reuters) — The Israeli military said Thursday it killed the nephew of Naim Qassem, leader of Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah, in an overnight strike on Beirut—**not** Qassem himself. Qassem has held a senior role in Hezbollah for over 30 years and officially became the group’s leader in 2024. That year, with U.S. support, Israel and Hezbollah reached a ceasefire ending more than a year of fighting. Since then, Israel has regularly targeted what it identifies as Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. Hezbollah has targeted Israel since the assassination of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Israel has since killed over 1,000 people in Lebanon.

April 9th: Total trading volume of WTI and Brent crude oil has exceeded Bitcoin’s for the first time, per official data from Hyperliquid. Bitcoin’s volume stood at $2.29 billion, while WTI crude hit $1.68 billion and Brent crude reached $770 million.

On April 9, the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported that an Iranian military spokesperson expressed hope for a ceasefire agreement in ongoing negotiations, but noted that if talks fail, "we are also prepared for a long-term war." Iran’s proposed conditions will serve as the basis for the negotiations. (Xinhua International)

On April 9, HyperInsight Monitoring reported that Abraxas Capital—the largest crude oil short seller on the Hyperliquid platform—saw its balance surge by over $12 million in the week following a ceasefire announcement. The firm’s “short oil, long crypto” portfolio flipped from a prior $9.7 million loss to a profit. At press time, the two associated addresses continue to realize profits while paring positions simultaneously, with current unrealized gains totaling $8.7 million. Post this round of position trimming, total open positions still stand at $152 million: US/UK crude shorts total ~$126 million, while crypto longs amount to ~$26.1 million. Crude oil short details are below: - Brent Crude Short (5x leverage): Position trimmed from $92 million to $78 million; average entry price ~$103 - WTI Crude Short (5x leverage): Position reduced from $51 million to $48.5 million; average entry price ~$98.30 Addresses: 0x5b5d51203a0f9079f8aeb098a6523a13F298C060 0xb83de012dba67