Global markets fall after Trump declares end of peace agreement with Iran; oil rises more than 5%

Trump says ceasefire with Iran is over Financial markets around the world are falling this Wednesday (8), after United States President Donald Trump said that the preliminary peace agreement with Iran is "over." The statement came after a new exchange of attacks between the two countries, reigniting fears of an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. The increase in tension led investors to seek assets considered safer and raised concerns about possible impacts on global oil supplies, especially because of the risks involving the Strait of Hormuz, one of the main maritime routes for transporting the commodity. Oil rises again Oil prices rose more than 5% this morning, reflecting fears of interruptions in global supply if the conflict intensifies. ? Around 8 am (Brasília time), the Brent oil futures contract, an international reference, rose 5.06%, trading at US$ 77.91 per barrel. WTI oil, a reference in the United States, advanced 4.97%, quoted at US$ 73.94 per barrel. The rise occurs because the market fears that new clashes will harm oil production and transportation in the Persian Gulf region. The Strait of Hormuz contains around a fifth of the oil traded in the world. Dollar gains strength and Wall Street futures retreat The dollar also strengthens in the face of investors' search for assets considered safer. The DXY index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six currencies, remained close to 101.17 points, at its highest level in about a week. In the United States, stock market futures contracts are falling before the markets open: Dow Jones: -1.34%; S&P 500: -1.06%; Nasdaq 100: -1.55%. The drop reflects the fear that the rise in oil will put pressure on global inflation and make future interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed), the American central bank, difficult. European stock markets have a sharp drop European stock markets record widespread losses, following the increase in geopolitical tension. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell about 1.6%, heading for its worst daily performance since March. The movement is mainly driven by companies in the consumer, tourism and technology sectors, which tend to be more sensitive to rising energy costs and the scenario of greater economic uncertainty. In the opposite direction, oil company shares advanced, benefiting from the rise in oil prices. Asian markets closed without a single direction In Asia, stock market performance was mixed. In Tokyo, the Nikkei index fell 2.11%, pressured by worsening global sentiment. In South Korea, the Kospi fell sharply by 5.35%. In mainland China, the Shanghai index fell 0.49%, while the CSI300 lost 0.77%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose 2.99%, driven by technology shares. The highlight was Alibaba, which advanced 12.2%, helping the local stock exchange's technology index to rise around 5%. In other markets in the region, Taiwan's index advanced 0.56%, Singapore gained 0.51%, while Australia's stock exchange fell 0.21%. Understand the new escalation between the USA and Iran The worsening of the markets' mood comes after a new escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran. In the early hours of this Wednesday, the two countries once again exchanged attacks, despite being officially under a ceasefire signed at the end of June. The United States bombed targets in southern Iran after accusing Tehran of attacking three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's main oil transport routes. In response, Iran claimed that the American offensive violated the peace agreement and launched attacks on US military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait, countries that host important installations of the American Armed Forces. Hours later, during a press conference in Ankara, Turkey, United States President Donald Trump stated that he considers the peace agreement to be closed and said that he does not intend to resume dialogue with the Iranian government. The statements increased fears of a new escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. For investors, the main risk is that the clashes will affect the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of the oil traded in the world passes. The possibility of interruptions in supply boosted commodity prices and led investors to reduce exposure to riskier assets, such as shares, in search of investments considered safer, such as the dollar.