** Maersk MAERSKb.CO shares down as much as 5%, leading peers lower, as a U.S.-Iran peace deal raises hopes of safer passage through Hormuz, threatening to cool recent freight-rate momentum

** U.S. and Iranian officials have agreed on a framework to end the war, halt the U.S. blockade of Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with a memorandum of understanding due to be signed on Friday

** Jyske Bank analyst Haider Anjum says the first reaction from the shipping industry has been muted, with carriers likely waiting to see whether the agreement holds and adding that full normalisation could take 2-3 months

** "The most significant knock-on effect may turn out to be the reopening of the Suez route via the Red Sea," Anjum says

** He adds the timing of normalisation will be crucial for how quickly the current strong freight-rate momentum breaks

** "In a hypothetical scenario where shipping companies reroute immediately, ships could begin returning to Asia via Suez as early as 3–4 weeks from now", Anjum says

** Hapag-Lloyd HLAG.DE and Kuehne+Nagel KNIN.S fall as much as 2% and 0.3%, respectively