After opening flat and then edging higher slowly till about a couple of hours past noon, Swiss stocks climbed up sharply on Friday as buying gathered momentum after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz completely open to commercial traffic.
Iran's foreign minister said that in light of the ceasefire that has halted fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, "passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open," via a designated route through the vital shipping lane.
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Market Analysis
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.