James Gruber

A reminder, the ceasefire was announced back in April 7.

And so, as you'd expect, volatility is back for stocks and oil prices.

Well, shortly after 6am this morning, the ASX 200 futures were pointing to a drop of 1.5% at the open to $8,766.

That's a pretty big fall given what's happened overseas.

Earnings reports from Macquarie and others will have some part to play in how the day on markets unfolds, as well as any further murmurings out of the Middle East.

It has.

Oil prices were pretty volatile during the session after a report said Iran would not allow the US to reopen the Strait of Hormuz with an unrealistic plan.

Brent crude futures settled down 1.2% to just above US$100 a barrel.

Base metal prices were slightly lower on Thursday as investors weighed the latest developments in Iran.

Copper futures slipped 0.1% while aluminium futures fell 0.5%.

Gold futures rose for a third consecutive session on Thursday on bargain hunting in hopes for a Middle East deal.

The futures settled up 0.5% to US$4,711 an ounce.

Meanwhile, iron ore futures edged up 0.1% to 110.95 US dollars a tonne.

So Wall Street edged down from record highs it actually hit earlier in the session, pressured by a pullback in chipmakers following a recent rally, while investors awaited developments in U.S.-Iran peace talks, as well as unemployment numbers for the U.S., which are due on Friday their time.

The semiconductor index fell around 0.7%, having jumped almost 61% so far this year.

US-listed shares of Arm Holdings slid 10% as worries about the company's ability to secure sufficient supplies for its new AI chip overshadowed a strong earnings forecast.

The energy sector was among the biggest laggards among the major sectors, with a 1.8% drop as crude prices dipped.

In other movers, cybersecurity stocks surged after Datadog raised its four-year earnings forecast.

Datadog surged 30%, while Peers CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks added 8% and 7%, respectively.

Whirlpool slumped almost 13% after the home appliance maker missed first quarter sales estimates and suspended its dividend.