The FTSE 100 was hovering around the flatline on Friday, while European stocks headed lower, as traders shrugged off Donald Trump’s latest pause on striking Iran’s energy infrastructure. On Thursday night, the US president extended the deadline for Iran to open the strait of Hormuz by 10 days, establishing a new date of 6 April. He asserted that discussions were “progressing quite favorably”. Nonetheless, Iran refuted the assertion that it was “begging to make a deal,” countering Trump’s prior statements.

It follows the largest daily decline on Wall Street since the onset of the Iran war on Thursday. Source reported on Thursday that the US was contemplating the deployment of up to 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East. Tony Sycamore, market analyst indicated that Trump has prolonged the uncertainty affecting markets. Although the discourse surrounding de-escalation and dialogue is undoubtedly more favorable than direct confrontation, the market seems to be becoming progressively desensitized to President Trump’s verbal assurances.

By extending the deadline, it effectively postpones any definitive resolution concerning the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. This, in turn, merely prolongs the uncertainty that burdens markets and the wider global economy. In other developments, the Office for National Statistics reported a decline in UK retail sales of 0.4% for February, subsequent to a 2.0% increase observed in January. During the December to February quarter, sales volumes experienced an increase of 0.7% relative to the preceding three months.

London’s benchmark index was hovering around the flatline in early trade Germany’s DAX dipped 0.5% while the CAC in Paris moved 0.2% into negative territory. The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.3% Wall Street is poised for a subdued opening as S&P 500 futures, Dow futures, and Nasdaq futures exhibited a lackluster performance. The pound experienced a decline of 0.1% against the US dollar, trading at 1.3311.