Breaking news in US-Iran negotiations! The first batch of ships passes through the Strait of Hormuz! European and American markets surge across the board

US-Iran negotiations bring the latest update.

As of 4:00 p.m. Beijing time on April 8, according to information from the Iranian side, the Speaker of the Iranian Islamic Parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, will lead an Iranian delegation in Islamabad, Pakistan, to hold talks with the United States, and the US side will be represented by Vice President Vance leading the delegation. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz said that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has confirmed that Iran will take part in the Islamabad talks.

According to the latest report by Xinhua News Agency, on April 8 the Israel Defense Forces announced that it has suspended strikes against Iran, but it remains in a high state of alert. According to CCTV News, two former senior Israeli officials said that Israel believes it is too early for a ceasefire and hopes that Israel’s military actions against Iran can continue for at least another month.

On April 8 local time, the ship tracking website MarineTraffic recorded the first batch of ship activity passing through the Strait of Hormuz after the US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire. It is understood that the Greek bulk carrier “NJ Earth” passed through the strait at 8:44 a.m. GMT, and the “Daytona Beach” vessel flying the Liberian flag passed through at 6:59 p.m. GMT. Earlier, the ship departed the port of Abbas at 5:28 p.m. GMT. According to MarineTraffic data, there are still several hundred vessels in the area, including 426 oil tankers, 34 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers, and 19 liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.

Spurred by news related to the US-Iran ceasefire and negotiations, stock markets in Europe and the US rebounded across the board. US blue-chip technology stocks surged in the pre-market, and the VIX volatility index fell by more than 20%. In its latest report, Goldman Sachs said that the growth momentum of global technology stocks (including US technology stocks) remains strong, while valuations are still at relatively low levels—which provides investors with a buying opportunity to enter the industry.

Latest developments in US-Iran negotiations

As of 4:00 p.m. Beijing time on April 8, after the opening of European stock markets, major indexes all moved higher across the board. As of the time of writing, the European STOXX 50 index, Germany’s DAX30 index, and France’s CAC40 index all jumped by more than 4%. Italy’s FTSE MIB index and Spain’s IBEX35 index both rose by more than 3%. The UK’s FTSE 100 index rose by more than 2%.

Futures for the three major US stock indexes saw their gains expand. S&P 500 index futures surged 2.66%, Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 3.4%, and Dow Jones index futures climbed 2.5%.

US blue-chip technology stocks surged strongly in the pre-market. ASML ADR jumped more than 7%, TSMC ADR rose more than 5%, and Meta, Tesla, and Oracle rose more than 4%. Google A, Microsoft, and Nvidia rose more than 3%. In the chip memory sector, stocks broadly rose in the pre-market: Micron Technology surged more than 10%, SanDisk and Seagate Technology rose more than 9%, and Western Digital rose more than 8%.

On the news front, Xinhua News Agency reported on April 8, citing Iranian media, that the Speaker of the Iranian Islamic Parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, will lead an Iranian delegation in Islamabad, Pakistan, to hold talks with the United States, with the US side participating via a delegation led by Vice President Vance.

Previously, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz confirmed that Iran and the United States, as well as their respective allies, agreed to immediately cease hostilities at all locations, effective immediately, including Lebanon and other regions. He invited delegations from Iran and the US to hold further talks in Islamabad on the 10th to reach a final agreement to resolve all disputes.

Analysts noted that, based on the current situation, the temporary ceasefire has temporarily delayed the risks that might have otherwise erupted on the evening of April 7, and also provides space for the parties to continue engagement. However, significant uncertainty remains regarding the issue of the Strait of Hormuz navigation, the security of regional energy facilities, and how the US and Iran will proceed with the negotiations afterward. For both sides, how they will engage in the coming two weeks around ceasefire conditions, navigation through the strait, and security arrangements will be key issues.

According to CCTV News, on April 8 local time, Ali Nikzad, Deputy Speaker of Iran’s Islamic Parliament, said that if the US side does not accept the 10 ceasefire provisions proposed by Iran, Iran’s Supreme Leader will not approve signing the ceasefire agreement. Nikzad also said that the Strait of Hormuz will not return to its original state.

On April 8 local time, the Israel Defense Forces’ Northern Command informed local leaders within its jurisdiction that the US-Iran two-week ceasefire arrangements do not include Lebanon. In the briefing, the Northern Command said it will continue to advance relevant actions according to the established plan, continue to implement the existing defensive policy, and follow all directives issued by Israel’s Headquarters Command in the rear. Previously, a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel supports the US ceasefire with Iran, but the ceasefire does not include Lebanon.

Goldman Sachs Speaks Out

As of April 7, US Eastern Time, Goldman Sachs said that global technology stocks (including US technology stocks) had previously gone through a prolonged period of stock price adjustments. At present, valuations generally look relatively low, which provides investors with a potential entry opportunity.

In its report, Goldman Sachs said that the current growth momentum in the technology sector remains strong, while valuations are at low levels—which provides investors with a buying opportunity to enter the sector.

According to the report, worldwide, the price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of the information technology (IT) sector has already fallen below the P/E ratios of the consumer discretionary, consumer staples, and industrial sectors.

Goldman Sachs said: “Given that the sensitivity of technology industry cash flows to economic growth is relatively low, and that the industry can benefit from any rise in bond yields, the industry may show a more defensive profile over the coming few months.”

Goldman Sachs also mentioned that despite lower valuations, the global technology industry’s earnings performance remains strong.

Goldman Sachs said that among all sectors in the S&P 500 index, the market broadly expects that in the first quarter of this year, earnings per share of the information technology sector will grow by 44%.

Goldman Sachs said: “The expected increase in earnings for the (technology industry) is also larger than that for any other industry. This has led the gap between (technology stocks’) share price performance and actual earnings growth to reach an all-time high.”

Legendary hedge fund manager Bill Ackman previously also posted on a social platform, saying: “A group of the world’s best companies currently has extremely low valuations. Don’t pay attention to mainstream media. Right now is one of the best times in a long while to buy quality assets.”

Michael Dardale, chief economist and market strategist at ROES capital, said in a report released recently: “Now is the time to increase the allocation to the information technology sector in your investment portfolio.” He provided three reasons: First, since the S&P 500 information technology sector hit its peak last autumn, earnings expectations have been raised by 28%; second, even so, the sector is still down 17.2% from its historical peak; third, this up-and-down movement has pushed the sector’s forward P/E ratio down sharply to just above 20 times, roughly in line with the level during the tail end of the 2025 market tariff panic pullback.

（Source: China Securities Journal）