Asian equities rose and the dollar declined, after the White House said President Donald Trump would decide within two weeks whether Washington will join Israel in launching strikes against Iran. A gauge of regional shares advanced 0.5%, with equity benchmarks in South Korea, Hong Kong and China all in the green. Contracts for the S&P 500 were down around 0.2% from Wednesday’s close in the Asia session, compared with a 0.9% drop on Thursday when US markets were closed for the Juneteenth holiday. Brent crude fell around 2% Friday to temper gains from earlier in the week. Treasuries were steady while a gauge of the dollar headed for a second day of declines. The yen strengthened to around 145 per dollar. Traders’ sentiment turned more cautious following a Bloomberg report that senior US officials are preparing for a possible strike on Iran in the coming days. Markets were already on edge after the Federal Reserve downgraded its estimates for growth this year and projected higher inflation. Israel struck more of Iran’s nuclear sites on Thursday and warned its attacks could bring down Tehran’s leadership as both sides awaited a decision from Trump on whether to join the offensive. Some extreme scenarios resulting from increased US involvement in the Israel-Iran war could push oil prices as high as $130 to $150 a barrel, particularly if Iran retaliates in a major way, said Jennifer McKeown, chief global economist at Capital Economics Ltd. Such a development would pause further policy easing by central banks, she said. Brent futures have been pricing in a geopolitical premium of about $8 a barrel since Israel and Iran began attacking each other last week, according to a survey of analysts and traders. US intervention in the conflict would bolster that further, but exactly how much would depend on the nature of the involvement, the nine respondents said. Over in Japan, a key consumer inflation measure accelerated to a fresh two-year high as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba gears up for a summer election and the Bank of Japan mulls the country’s price trajectory. Japan’s Finance Ministry will seek feedback from market players later Friday over its planned reductions to super-long bond issuance as it takes steps to quell market turbulence. Meanwhile in Thailand, the political fate of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra remains uncertain on Friday as the opposition and nationalist groups continued to pile pressure on her to quit following a leaked phone call in which she criticized her army. Elsewhere in Asia, data set for release Friday include foreign exchange reserves in India. Markets are closed in New Zealand.
Nikkei -0.05% Hang Seng +1.15% CSI +0.24% Shanghai +0.08% Shenzen -0.28%
Eur$ 1.1557 CNH 7.1806 CNY 7.1808 JPY 145.44 GBP 1.3494 CHF RUB TRY WTI$ 75.67 +0.71% Gold BTC ETH
S&P -0.20% Nasdaq +0.16% EuroStoxx +075% FTSE +0.27% Dax +0.68% SMI
Macro :
- Trump to Make Iran Strike Decision Within 2 Weeks: Leavitt
- California Utilities Expand Power Shutdowns as Winds Rise (1)
-
EU Agreed to Lift EIB Lending Limit to 100 Billion Euros: Rtrs
Keep an eye on :
EU Agreed to Lift EIB Lending Limit to 100 Billion Euros: Rtrs
Keep an eye on :
- AAPL US : Apple in talks with home-grown companies to produce iPhone gears
- CPR IM : Campari’s Family Owner to Acquire Stake in PE Firm Bluegem
- ETL FP : Eutelsat Raises €1.35 Billion to Build Europe’s Starlink Rival
- ETL FP : Eutelsat Raises €1.35 Billion to Build Europe’s Starlink Rival
- NOVOB DC : United Lab Gets Payment From Novo Nordisk for Obesity Drug Pact
- 9984 JP : SoftBank Pitches $1 Trillion US AI Hub to TSMC, Trump Team (1)
- TEF SM : Telecom Argentina Has 15 Days to Act on Telefonica, Company Says
- UCG IM : UniCredit Wins Conditional EU Approval for Banco BPM Deal
- ZEAL DC :Zealand Pharma’s 46% Stock Slump Makes New Obesity Drug Critical