The news about the opening of the Strait of Hormuz caused the stock indices in Switzerland and other important stock exchanges to rise significantly on Friday afternoon. At the same time, the price of oil has fallen significantly.
April 17, 2026, 3:46 p.mApril 17, 2026, 3:46 p.m
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had previously said that passage through the important sea route would be free for merchant ships for the remainder of the ceasefire. US President Donald Trump also declared that the strait was open again and “ready for business and full passage.”
The SMI subsequently jumped significantly higher on Friday afternoon after moderately friendly morning trading. At around 3:30 p.m., the Swiss leading index SMI was up 1.2 percent to 13,331.17 points.
The other European leading indices are also clearly increasing: the German DAX gains almost 1.3 percent and the French CAC 40 gains 1.9 percent. The US stock exchanges started trading clearly stronger: the leading index Dow Jones was trading 1.2 percent higher shortly after the market opened.
Meanwhile, oil prices reacted very clearly to the opening of the shipping route, which is extremely important for oil trade. By mid-afternoon, the price for a barrel of North Sea Brent had fallen by almost 10 percent to $89.50, after the barrel had cost just under $100 the day before.
(sda/awp)