Just now, a surge of over 930 points! Iran: Attacked a U.S. tech giant!

Global markets launch a full-scale rebound.

On the morning of April 3, after the opening of the stock markets in Japan and South Korea, major indexes rose across the board. The Nikkei 225 index surged by more than 930 points at one point, while the KOSPI index in South Korea jumped by more than 3%. Judging from the news flow, positive signals regarding the situation in the Strait of Hormuz boosted market confidence. Overnight, all three major U.S. stock indexes also rose together, and the VIX volatility index dropped sharply.

Regarding the situation in the Middle East, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency, the naval command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that Iran targeted data centers of U.S. tech giants Oracle and Amazon in the Gulf region, located respectively in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and in Bahrain. At the same time, Yemen’s Houthi forces announced that on April 2, jointly with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, they carried out a fourth coordinated strike against Israel.

Japanese and South Korean stock markets surge

On the morning of April 3 Beijing time, Japan and South Korea’s stock markets opened higher across the board. The Nikkei 225 index opened up 1.14%, the KOSPI index in South Korea opened up 2.59%, and then the gains widened. As of 8:10, the Nikkei 225 index was up 1.55%, and the KOSPI index in South Korea was up more than 3%. Among them, SK hynix rose by more than 6%, and Samsung Electronics rose by more than 3%.

Overnight, the U.S. stock market rebounded strongly. After opening lower and then moving higher, by the close the Dow fell 0.13%, the Nasdaq rose 0.18%, and the S&P 500 index rose 0.11%. Early in the U.S. session, the Dow was down by more than 600 points at one point, and the Nasdaq was down by more than 2% at one point.

Goldman Sachs trading desk data shows that overall activity for the day was 2 out of 10.

Long-term capital made small purchases of information technology, industrial, and financial sectors, while hedge funds continued to sell energy and commodity-related exposures.

At present, market expectations for the duration of the crisis are clearly divided. The futures market shows that the WTI crude oil price for the October delivery is about $82 per barrel.

Baird market strategist Michael Antonelli said: “The WTI crude oil price for October delivery tells you that the market believes this crisis is very likely to end before autumn.”

Recent moves in global financial markets have been driven almost entirely by developments related to the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.

As the situation in the Middle East continues to escalate and navigation through the Strait of Hormuz remains obstructed, diplomatic games over whether to cool the situation through a framework under the United Nations have clearly intensified. Bahrain revealed that the UN Security Council may vote on a relevant draft resolution on Friday, April 3.

According to reports, on the morning of Thursday, April 2 (U.S. Eastern time), Zaeyani, the rotating chair of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Bahrain’s foreign minister, told the UN Security Council that it may vote on Friday on a draft resolution aimed at supporting a series of measures to restore navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

Also, according to Xinhua News Agency citing UAE media reports, on Thursday, UAE Minister of State Khalifa said that the UAE is willing to take part in any related measures to ensure safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. He said the Strait of Hormuz is an important international waterway governed by international law. The UAE will safeguard its own lawful rights and interests, and is also willing to participate in collective action to maintain regional stability.

Iran: strikes on Oracle and Amazon data centers in the U.S.

According to Xinhua News Agency, on April 2, the naval command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps posted a message on social media saying that Iran struck data centers of U.S. tech giants Oracle and Amazon in the Gulf region, located respectively in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and in Bahrain.

The report said the operation was to destroy the “assassination machine,” and that U.S. President Trump’s actions are causing the U.S. side to pay a heavy price.

Bahrain’s government confirmed that after Iran’s attack on Amazon infrastructure, the civil defense department was putting out fires at the scene, which was the second attack in the past two days targeting Amazon infrastructure in Bahrain.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in an announcement released on March 31 that it would treat companies and institutions related to 18 U.S. information and communications technology and artificial intelligence companies in the Middle East as “lawful strike targets,” involving companies including Cisco, HP, Intel, Oracle, and Microsoft. However, Amazon was not included in this list.

On April 3 local time, the public relations department of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that earlier, under the control of Iran’s national air defense network, its defense systems shot down an enemy aircraft in the airspace over the city of Qazvin in Iran.

In addition, the public relations department of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that during the “True Promise-4” Wave 91 military operation, it attacked and destroyed Israeli military bases and defense industry facilities in areas west of Tel Aviv and in Eilat.

At the same time, Yemen’s Houthi forces have continued to strike Israel. According to Xinhua News Agency, on April 2, Yemen’s Houthi forces announced that on that day, they carried out a joint operation with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon and launched a fourth coordinated strike against Israel using ballistic missiles to attack the “important targets” in the Jaffa area of Tel Aviv.

The Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sareya said in a statement published on Masirah TV, which is controlled by the organization, that the group’s military involvement in the current fighting will proceed “step by step,” and it will respond accordingly “based on whether the enemy escalates or de-escalates.”

Earlier that day, Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech: “Only by taking unified action against the enemy on all fronts is the correct position for the Islamic nation to confront Israel’s plot.”

He said that the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel are “the masterminds behind all the disasters and sufferings the people of Yemen are facing,” and that “it is the Americans manipulating regional proxies to confront Yemen.” The current situation is part of a larger-scale confrontation, and this confrontation is “inevitable,” and the Houthis will not “stand by.”

On March 28, the Houthis announced that they had joined the war and launched their first missile strikes against Israel. The internationally recognized Yemeni government condemned Iran’s attempt to drag Yemen into its so-called “futile war.”

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