Hormuz Blockade Fails to Shake Markets, Asian Exchanges Open Positively
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — The Asia-Pacific stock exchanges opened stronger on Tuesday (14/4/2026) amid hopes that an agreement between Washington and Tehran remains possible. This optimism emerged despite the United States beginning to blockade Iranian shipments in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to CNBC, the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, which remains in effect though not officially cancelled, is now increasingly fragile. The two countries are accusing each other of violating the terms of the agreement.
The United States on Monday stated that it has begun blocking ships entering and exiting Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz. This step was taken to increase pressure on Iran to reopen the main oil trade route after peace talks reached a deadlock.
The blockade took effect at 10:00 local US time. In response, Iranian officials warned that the policy would instead drive up global energy prices.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf even mocked the impact of the blockade via social media. He stated that current fuel prices might be missed if the blockade continues.
Market participants in Asia are also monitoring the release of China’s trade data scheduled for the same day. This data is considered important for measuring the strength of the regional economy amid global uncertainty.
In the commodities market, crude oil prices moved lower. West Texas Intermediate fell 2.37% to US$96.73 per barrel, while Brent corrected 1.82% to US$97.51 per barrel.
From the stock markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 1.5% and the Topix gained 0.74%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also appreciated 0.88%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng futures were at 25,924, higher than the previous close of 25,660.85.
In Wall Street, index futures showed flat movements. S&P 500 futures rose slightly by 0.06%, Dow Jones added 10 points or 0.02%, and Nasdaq-100 strengthened by nearly 0.2%.
Meanwhile, the main US indices closed higher in the previous trading session. The S&P 500 rose 1.02% to 6,886.24, the Nasdaq Composite surged 1.23% to 23,183.74, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 301.68 points or 0.63% to 48,218.25.