As the fragile ceasefire between Iran and the United States entered its second week, the blockade of Iranian ports established by Washington, effective since Monday, is proving successful. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters on Thursday: "We are maintaining a very strong blockade and it will remain in place as long as necessary. The Navy controls traffic entering and exiting the Strait. We are doing this with 10% of our forces."

"We hope the Iranian regime will make a wise choice. If Iran makes the wrong choice, there will be a blockade and bombs on energy and strategic infrastructure," he warned. Meanwhile, Dan Caine, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, hailed the success of the blockade, confirming that "thirteen vessels decided to turn back after attempting to run the blockade."

While the truce between the U.S. and Iran holds, a senior U.S. official stated yesterday that a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is not currently on the agenda, following the first direct talks between Tel Aviv and Beirut in Washington. He indicated that "this is not part of the peace negotiations with Iran, but President Trump would welcome an end to hostilities in Lebanon as part of a peace agreement" between Israel and the country.

On the 47th day of the Middle East conflict, the White House incumbent stated that discussions between Israel and Lebanon would take place this Thursday, while the Financial Times reported, citing Lebanese officials, that a ceasefire could be announced shortly.

A ceasefire in Lebanon is as important as one in Iran, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf estimated on Thursday.
For Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, "the ceasefire sought by Lebanon with Israel is the natural prelude to direct negotiations between the two countries," he stated in a press release.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak for the first time with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun after so many years of total breakdown in dialogue between the two countries, and it is hoped that this step will ultimately lead to prosperity and growth for Lebanon as a state," commented Israeli Innovation Minister Gila Gamliel, without specifying exactly when or how the two men would confer.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz asserted that if Iran rejected a U.S. proposal requiring it to renounce "nuclear weaponry," Israel would carry out "even more painful" strikes against new targets.

Furthermore, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-chair a videoconference from Paris on Friday involving "non-belligerent countries ready to contribute" to a "multilateral and purely defensive mission" in the Strait of Hormuz.

Against this heavy geopolitical backdrop and ongoing peace negotiations, oil prices remained below the 100-dollar threshold. Around 5:45 p.m., Brent crude was up 3.96% at 98.63 USD, while WTI rose 2.2% to 93.41 USD.

Pernod Ricard and easyJet disappoint

In corporate news, Pernod Ricard (-0.54%) posted one of the sharpest declines on the CAC 40. Shares in the wines and spirits group fell following a disappointing performance in the third quarter of its 2025/2026 fiscal year. During this period, it recorded revenue of 1.95 billion euros, compared with 2.28 billion euros a year earlier, representing a 14.6% decline on a reported basis, primarily reflecting unfavorable currency effects. Furthermore, it anticipates an organic sales decline of between 3% and 4% for the full fiscal year, citing a "volatile and uncertain" environment.

Kering (-3.07%) also retreated within the CAC 40. The luxury group used its investor day to present "ReconKering," its strategy aimed at enhancing the desirability of its Houses. By the end of 2026, it aims to complete a structural overhaul and restore financial discipline, operational efficiency, and a clear strategy. By the end of 2028, Kering expects to enter a phase of renewed and sustainable growth. Additionally, Kering announced on Thursday that it would take a minority stake in the Chinese fashion group ICCF as part of its strategy to support emerging luxury houses.

In Europe, Tesco (+4.17%) was among the top performers on the FTSE 100 following robust annual results for the 2025/2026 fiscal year. The British retail group recorded revenue of 73.712 billion GBP, up from 69.916 billion GBP a year earlier. Net profit stood at 1.787 billion GBP, compared to 1.626 billion GBP a year ago. The company stated that no product availability issues had been observed, despite fears of potential shortages on British supermarket shelves due to the war in the Middle East.

In London, however, easyJet plummeted 5.68%. The British carrier anticipates a loss in the first half of its 2026 fiscal year, citing a more challenging geopolitical and competitive environment as well as rising jet fuel prices. The pre-tax loss is expected to be between 540 and 560 million GBP, despite a generally positive demand environment.

On the macroeconomic front, the consumer price index in the Eurozone rose by 1.3% in March, exceeding expectations of 1.2% and a previous reading of 0.6%. On an annual basis, the increase amounted to 2.6%, 0.1 percentage points higher than forecast and 0.7 points higher than in February.

On the foreign exchange market, the euro fell 0.17% to 1.1780 USD.