According to most reasonable estimates, around 80 to 130 ships, including roughly 50–60 tankers, transit the Strait of Hormuz daily, amounting to over 30,000 tankers per year. How the United States plans to interdict these vessels as part of a blockade of 15 ships that exists some 300-500 miles into the Indian Ocean beyond the Strait of Hormuz is a reasonable question to ask.
The answer is simple. It can't.
Because of the simple math, President Trump unilaterally extended the tenuous ceasefire with Iran via a posting on Truth Social just nine minutes after U.S. markets closed on Tuesday (4:09 pm ET). Heck of a way to conduct foreign policy and market intervention at the same time.
Stocks came under pressure Tuesday, and took a sizable trip to the downside in the final 15 minutes of trading, suggesting some insider knowledge of Trump's intentions. Wednesday morning, stock futures are higher, with Dow futures up more than 300 points, NASDAQ futures up more than 220, and S&P futures as high as 55 points better than the cash close Tuesday.
It's not rocket science. Stocks will be trading on the upswing Wednesday with the extension of the Trump ceasefire.
Beyond the yo-yo manipulation of markets that have become endemic over the course of Trump's administration since taking office officially in January 2025, first quarter earnings from a variety of sources can add fuel to the rallying fire.
Tuesday, after markets had close, these companies reported 1Q earnings:
United Airlines (UAL) - lowers outlook, stock down less than 1% in Wednesday pre-market
Chubb (CB) - Solid quarter, higher premiums, stock down 1.5%
Capital One (COF) - Earnings miss on Discover integration, shares down 1%
Interactive Brokers (IBKR) - revenue miss, shared down less than 1%
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) - Earnings beat, stock up 1.5%
Wednesday, before the bell, these companies reported:
Boeing (BA) - higher revenue, narrower loss, sends stock up 3%
AT&T (T) - Revenue gains, growing customer base, stock up 2%
Boston Scientific (BSX) - earnings beat, lower forecast, stock up 5%
Philip Morris (PM) - smokes expectations, up 2%
CME Group (CME) - top and bottom miss, shares down 1.5%
Boeing and AT&T will likely send the Dow Industrials higher with the remainder of the market mixed. It appears that most of the Wall Street sharpies - and maybe even some of the duller minds in lower Manhattan - have picked up on the Trump trade and are plying it with options and short term buys and sells. This is definitely not a "buy and hold" condition, but more like a "pump and dump, rinse and repeat" framework.
Not for the faint of heart.
At the Close, Tuesday, April 21, 2026:
Dow: 49,149.38, -293.18 (-0.59%)
NASDAQ: 24,259.97, -144.43 (-0.59%)
S&P 500: 7,064.01, -45.13 (-0.63%)
NYSE Composite: 22,951.97, -226.38 (-0.98%)
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