CNBC Daily Open: Trading the truce and the Lebanon dilemma

Hello, this is Leonie Kidd writing to you from London. Welcome to another edition of CNBC's Daily Open.

The so-called "truce trade" has seen global equities notch another day of gains, taking the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record levels, and lifting Japan's Nikkei to new all-time highs as well.

And investors could find more cause for optimism today, as Israel and Lebanon look set to hold their first direct talks in more than 30 years.

But a word of caution from the World Bank, as the organization's president tells CNBC in an exclusive interview that there will still be months of economic disruption ahead.

It's been a key risk to the ceasefire and future peace talks between the U.S. and Iran. But President Donald Trump has directly addressed the ongoing attacks on Lebanon, announcing that talks between Tel Aviv and Beirut will take place today.

In a late night post on Truth Social, Trump said he was "trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon," citing the more than three-decade gap since the countries have met.

On Wednesday, the President again insisted that the Iran war is "very close to over," with authorities in Tehran eager to agree a peace deal. 

The U.S. and Iran will likely return to Pakistan next week for a second round of peace negotiations, two senior Pakistani officials told MS NOW on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Trump's forecast that the "stock market is going to boom," appears to be coming true.

The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq have risen to new all-time highs and closed at new records. The broad market index advanced 0.80%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.59% to post its 11th straight gain in a row. The blue-chip Dow bucked the trend, losing 72.27 points, or 0.15%.

Japan's Nikkei 225 hit a record Thursday amid a broader rally in Asia markets, fueled by technology and consumer cyclical stocks. 

China's economy gathered steam in the first quarter, as robust exports offset sluggish domestic consumption, though an energy shock stemming from the Iran war threatens to sap global demand and undercut that momentum.

Gross domestic product grew 5% in the three months to March, data from the National Statistics Bureau showed Thursday, accelerating from 4.5% in the prior quarter and exceeding economists' forecast for 4.8% growth in a Reuters poll.

However, World Bank President Ajay Banga sounded a cautionary note in his exclusive interview with CNBC, warning that conflict-related disruptions would likely last for months, even if the current shaky ceasefire lasts and the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.

At the IMF-World Bank spring meeting in Washington, D.C., ECB governing council members have told CNBC they are taking a cautious approach to interest rate setting ahead of an upcoming policy meeting at the end of this month.

— Leonie Kidd