Undermining the ceasefire concluded last Tuesday, the blockade of Iranian ports is set to begin this Monday, Donald Trump confirmed. "The United States will impose a blockade on ships entering and leaving Iranian ports on April 13 at 10:00 AM," Washington time, the American president wrote on his Truth Social platform.

"As of now, the US Navy, the best in the world, will begin the process of blocking all ships attempting to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz. No one will be able to sail safely on the high seas if they pay an illegal toll. Iran promised to open the Strait of Hormuz and has knowingly broken its word. Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be pulverized," the White House incumbent detailed.

This blockade is imposed on "vessels of all nationalities entering or leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas," according to the US military. It specified that it would allow the movement of vessels not departing from or heading to Iran through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic passage for global trade and oil supplies, according to a statement from the US military command for the Middle East, Centcom.

In response to the Americans, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards claimed on X to have the strait "entirely under control" and threatened to trap their enemies in a "deadly whirlpool."

"We do not support the blockade," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated this Monday in an interview with the BBC. "We have been clear that we are not going to let ourselves be drawn into this war," even though London has participated in "defensive actions" since the start of the conflict in late February, he also confirmed during the interview.

Following the failure of the talks in Islamabad, China is calling on Iran and the United States to "avoid resuming hostilities."

Regarding these discussions with Washington, Iran was "within a hair's breadth" of concluding an agreement to end the Middle East conflict with the United States in Islamabad, according to statements made overnight by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on his X account, shifting the responsibility for the failure of the negotiations onto Washington.

Iran "will not yield to any threat," reacted Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who headed the Iranian delegation in Islamabad.

In this heavy geopolitical context, Emmanuel Macron announced this morning that France and the United Kingdom will organize a conference in the coming days with countries ready to contribute to "a multinational peaceful mission intended to restore freedom of navigation" in the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil surpasses 100 dollars again

In this tense environment, crude oil prices have once again crossed the 100-dollar mark this Monday. Around noon, Brent jumped 8.78% to 102.70 USD. WTI climbed 9.29% to 104.48 USD.

On the corporate front, Kering (-2.04%) posted one of the sharpest declines on the CAC 40, penalized by a rating downgrade from Morgan Stanley analysts. In a note published Friday, analysts at the American bank indicated they had downgraded the stock from "overweight" to "equal-weight" and lowered their price target to 320 euros, from 330 EUR previously.

Furthermore, in an analytical note on the electrical equipment manufacturers and distributors sector, Barclays adjusted its recommendations on several French stocks. Barclays raised its opinion on Schneider Electric (-0.52%) to overweight and hiked its price target from 270 to 305 EUR, highlighting the resilience of its activities related to data centers, network infrastructure, and energy, which represent about half of its results.

Conversely, the British bank is more cautious on Legrand (-1.85%), whose recommendation was lowered to equal-weight with a price target reduced from 175 to 144 EUR. This is due to uncertainties weighing on the construction market, despite solid pricing power.

Barclays also adopted a more reserved tone on Rexel (-2.63%), downgraded to "underweight" with a price target reduced from 33 to 29 EUR. The bank believes that the group's positioning in the United States is now largely priced into valuations.

UBS confirmed its "sell" rating on the German airport management specialist Fraport, with a price target lowered from 68 to 67 EUR. The stock fell more than 5.5% in Frankfurt. The broker justified its decision by highlighting short- and medium-term risks, notably related to a possible rationalization of airline capacities in a context of high kerosene prices. According to UBS, Frankfurt appears more exposed than its peers due to the low profitability of its main client airlines.

Also in Frankfurt, Nemetschek plummeted 5.63%, bringing its year-to-date decline to 38.63%. A rating downgrade at UBS this morning added to investor distrust toward the German software specialist for industry and construction, whose quarterly activity update is expected at the very end of April.

Around 12:00 PM, the euro gained 0.11% to 1.1688 dollars.