Here's your morning brief for Tuesday, April 14th. I'm Daniel Bach for the Wall Street Journal.

Saudi Arabia is pressing the U.S. to end his blockade of the Strait of Hormuz,

fearing the move could trigger retaliation from Iran and the disruption of other key shipping routes.

Gulf officials say that although Washington and Tehran are publicly maintaining hard lines,

both sides are actively engaging with mediators.

Global markets are higher and oil lower this morning on hopes of more talks.

The Iran War is showing up in Chinese economic data and posing a threat to one of the country's major growth drivers.

Export data for March shows a sharp

decline from the two previous months, which could be an early sign the war is hit in global demand.

The Middle East has also been one of the regions where Chinese exporters had been growing

and finding new customers, which have buffered the hit from a downturned trade with the U.S.

because of tariffs. And luxury goods sales are also taking a hit from a downturned trade with the U.S. because of tariffs.

And luxury goods sales are also taking a hit from the war, with industry bellwether LVMH reporting a revenue drop in its key fashion and leather goods business for the first quarter.

Luxury brands have been grappling with sluggish sales, trade disputes, and a more

unpredictable geopolitical landscape in the past few years,

something the Louis Vuitton owner said was amplified by the Iran War.

Gucci owner Caring will report earnings today, followed by Hermes tomorrow.

Asian stocks end of the day mostly higher, European stocks are gaining in midday trading,

and U.S. stock futures are pointing to a higher

open ahead of earnings from JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup. And we have a lot more coverage

of the day's news on the WSJ's What's News podcast. You can add it to your playlist on your

smart speaker or listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

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