GLOBAL MARKETS-Stock, bond, currency investors hold steady as Trump's Iran deadline nears

* Equities, currency, Treasury investors in wait-and-see mode

* Iran shows no sign of opening Strait of Hormuz

* Trump ​vows to attack ⁠civilian infrastructure if no deal

* Brent dips to near $109 a barrel

* US crude climbs close to $113 a barrel

NEW YORK/ LONDON, April 7 (Reuters) - MSCI's global equities gauge fell slightly while the dollar and U.S. Treasuries were little changed on Tuesday as investors awaited the outcome of a standoff between the U.S. and Iran.

In a choppy session for oil, which has been beset by ​supply concerns, ‌U.S. crude futures settled slightly higher, near $113 per barrel after earlier rising above $117 while Brent finished down slightly. While Iran showed no sign of bowing to U.S. President Donald Trump's ultimatum to open the Strait of Hormuz by the end of the day, Iranian media reported that strikes on Iran ⁠had intensified and hit railway and road bridges, an airport and a petrochemical plant. Trump has threatened to destroy every bridge and power plant ⁠in Iran if the country does not meet his deadline.

Iran responded by declaring that ​it would no longer hold back from hitting infrastructure in its Gulf neighbors, and said that it carried out fresh strikes on a ship in the Gulf and a huge Saudi petrochemical complex.

Investors have been laser-focused on the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which is now in its sixth week, as wild volatility in oil prices has increased concerns about inflation and a potential slowing of the global economy. Wall Street indexes were falling modestly on Tuesday, having made little progress in recent days, as hopes for a quick resolution ​to the war have been replaced ‌by nervous uncertainty ahead of Tuesday's deadline.

HEADING FOR THE SIDELINES

With no clarity on the outcome, Rick Meckler, a partner at Cherry Lane Investments in New Vernon, New Jersey, said the majority of investors are staying in "watch mode" as investment decisions are "extremely difficult" to make ahead of Tuesday's deadline.

"It's leading most investors to head to the sidelines because why sell everything if this is headed for resolution and why buy something if you could be seeing a very significant decline in a matter of days?" said Meckler, suggesting that if Trump carries out his threat, this would usher in a "very bearish period" for markets.

"There's no clear play here unless as an investor you've decided you're relatively certain where this is headed," Meckler said.

In U.S. equities, at 2:48 p.m. ET (1848 GMT) the ​Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 281.05 points, or 0.60%, to 46,388.83, the S&P 500 fell 37.61 points, or 0.57%, to 6,574.22 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 182.37 points, or 0.83%, to 21,814.42.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell 3.48 points, or 0.35%, to 994.18.

Earlier, ‌the pan-European STOXX 600 index finished down 1.01%, while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 24.68 points, or 1.04%.

Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a global transit chokepoint through which a fifth of oil and gas is shipped, since the start of the war on February 28. It has pushed back against U.S. pressure to reopen the ‌strait, saying it wants a lasting end to the war instead of a temporary ceasefire. Meanwhile the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday fuel prices could keep rising for months even after the Strait reopens, in contrast with Trump's assurances that consumers will see immediate relief when the war ends.

Oil prices, which have moved sharply in response to supply concerns stemming from the war, were a mixed bag on Tuesday with U.S. crude rallying while Brent was little changed.

U.S. crude settled up 0.48%, or 54 ​cents, at $112.95 a barrel after earlier touching $117.73. Brent settled at $109.27 per barrel, down 0.46%, or 50 cents, on the day.

CONFLICT TRIGGERS ECONOMIC FEARS

Inflation concerns have also upended the global rates outlook, with traders no longer pricing in any rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve this year. Chicago Federal Reserve Bank ‌President Austan Goolsbee said on Tuesday he is worried that the war will drive inflation higher even as it slows the U.S. economy, putting the Fed in an uncomfortable position where there is no obvious "cookbook" for what to do.

U.S. Treasuries yields were little changed as investors were wary of making big bets.

"That's the mother of all deadlines right there, and everybody seems to be waiting for it," said Tom di Galoma, managing director of global rates trading at Mischler Financial Group.

"I don't think anybody really wanted to buy Treasuries ⁠with the chance that ⁠oil could go to $150 (a barrel), and that's the scary part of this whole thing. They should be buying Treasuries as a safe-haven bid, but for the most part, ‌it's very tough to do with the chance that oil could accelerate," di Galoma said.

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 0.4 basis points to 4.339%, from 4.335% late on Monday while the 30-year bond yield rose 2.5 basis points to 4.9152%.

The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with ​interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, fell 1.7 basis points to 3.833%. In ​currencies, the U.S. dollar traded close to its highest levels in almost 11 months with investors pausing ahead of the U.S. deadline for Iran.

The dollar index, which measures ‌the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.16% to 99.84. It had hit 100.64 last week, its highest since May 2025.

The euro was up 0.29% at $1.1575 while against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.06% to 159.78.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 1.94% to $68,476.82. Ethereum declined 2.75% to $2,090.06. In precious metals, gold prices were modestly higher while silver fell as caution prevailed. Spot gold rose 0.61% to $4,675.82 an ounce while spot silver fell 1.35% to $71.81 an ounce.