Stocks and bonds both edged lower and oil climbed as persistent Middle-East tensions and conflicting signals from the US and Iran about their ceasefire talks sapped risk sentiment. MSCI’s Asian share benchmark fell 0.9%, snapping a two-day gain, as elevated energy costs threatened to stoke inflation and crimp economic growth. Equity-index futures for the US and Europe both indicated modest losses. The MSCI All Country World Index headed for its first drop this week, indicating that earlier optimism may be fading as the US and Iran wrangle over talks with no end to war in sight. Brent crude rose 1.9% to about $104 a barrel, rebounding from Wednesday’s declines. Since then, the US insisted negotiations were ongoing, but Iran rejected outreach by President Donald Trump. Oil has stayed volatile this week, with losses typically followed by gains the following day. The higher crude prices showed up in the bond market with yields on the Treasury 10-year note rising two basis points to 4.35%. The benchmark yield has jumped about 40 basis points since the war began, reinforcing expectations that policymakers may keep interest rates elevated due to faster inflation. Bonds also dropped in Japan and Australia. Markets had been modestly optimistic this week as US efforts to end the conflict appeared to gain momentum, overshadowing reports that Iran had rejected a truce. Amid the mixed signals on negotiations, Washington ordered thousands of troops to the region, raising concern that Trump may be gearing up for the kind of risky ground invasion he once opposed. On Thursday, Israel said it completed a wave of strikes in Isfahan, Iran, targeting infrastructure in several areas. Trump has been pushing for talks with Iran in a bid to halt a conflict that’s approaching the four-week mark. The White House said the US has been in productive talks with Iran in the last three days and has compiled a plan stipulating the Islamic Republic dismantle its main nuclear facilities and use a reduced missile arsenal in self-defense only. But Tehran is signaling little willingness to compromise. A move by the US to start indirect talks is illogical and not viable at this stage, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. Amid all this, traders stayed focused on the Strait of Hormuz — a vital artery for Middle East oil flows — that remains effectively closed for ships. The Iranian parliament is working on a draft bill that would impose a fee on vessels seeking safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the Fars news agency also reported. Meanwhile, BlackRock Inc. President Rob Kapito said investors may be underestimating the risks stemming from the Iran war, which are likely to weigh on growth and drive inflation higher even if the conflict ends soon.
In other corners of the market, shares in South Korea fell 2.3%. Asian memory and storage stocks tracked losses in US peers on concerns of lower demand, after Google researchers touted a new compression technique for large language models and vector search engines. Meanwhile, concerns over the conflict in the Middle East have rippled across Asia. South Korea has set up an emergency task force to prepare for adverse scenarios, Japan is reviewing its supply chain for petroleum-related products, and the Philippines has declared a national emergency. US After Hours NAVN +22% higher on earnings; MLKN -16.6%, WS -12.1% lower on earnings; NERV +9.7% on new data; GO +4.7% on CEO insider buy.
Nikkei -1.07% Hang Seng -2.01% CSI -1.14% Shanghai -1.03% Shenzen -1.37%
Eur$ 1.1562 CNH 6.9082 CNY 6.9044 JPY 159.46 GBP 1.3357 CHF 0.7920 RUB 81.0417 TRY 44.3690 WTI$ 92.09 +1.97% Gold 4,473 -1.69% BTC 70,294 -0.97% ETH 2,125 -1.86%
S&P -0.35% Nasdaq -0.37% EuroStoxx -0.66% FTSE -0. 20% Dax -0.84% SMI -0.37%
Macro :
- Iran War Shows BRICS Limits as India Pushed to Choose Sides
- Defense Supply Gap Seen Driving Investment as US Focus Shifts
Keep an eye on :
Keep an eye on :
- AAD GY : Amadeus Fire Sees 2026 Revenue EU362M to EU394M
- BAS GY : BASF Raises Prices for Standard Amines Portfolio in Europe
- BAS GY : BASF Opens €10 Billion China Site as Iran War Stokes Turmoil
- BOL SS : Boliden: Garpenberg’s Production Seen ~30% of Capacity/Year, Boliden’s Garpenberg Mine Impact Worse Than Expected, RBC Says
- CADLR NO : Cadeler Follow-On Offering for Up to ~10% of Company: Terms
- CWR LN : Ceres Power FY Revenue Beats Estimates
- CSG NA : CSG NV FY Revenue Beats Estimates
- CWC GY : Cewe Stiftung Sees 2026 Revenue EU870M to EU900M, Est. EU892.8M
- DHER GY : Delivery Hero 2026 Adjusted Ebitda Forecast Misses Estimates
- DEZ GY : Deutz Sees 2026 Adjusted Ebit Margin 6.5% to 8%
- EUZ GY : Eckert & Ziegler Sees 2026 Adjusted Ebit About EU80M
- EDF FP : KKR, Clearway, LS Power Among Suitors for EDF’s US Assets: FT
- ERICB SS : Ericsson to Expand, Modernize SoftBank’s Core Network in Japan
- GAM SW : GAM Holding Assets Under Management CHF12.5B Vs. CHF16.3B Y/y
- HMB SS : H&M 1Q Operating Profit Beats Estimates
- HHFA GY : Hamburger Hafen Sees 2026 Ebit EU175M to EU195M
- HLAG GY : Hapag-Lloyd Sees 2026 Ebitda $1.1B to $3.1B, Est. $2.92B
- HEN3 GY : Henkel Is Said to Near Deal for Hair-Care Brand Olaplex
- JEF US : Jefferies 1Q EPS Misses Estimates
- KME IM : Apollo Provides €300M to KME to Buy Paragon’s Stake in Cunova
- SKB GY : Koenig & Bauer Sees 2026 Revenue at Prior Year Level
- KTN GY : Kontron FY Revenue Misses Estimates
- MRL SM : Merlin Properties Offers About 56.3m Shares, Terms Show, Spanish REIT Merlin Offers Shares to Fund Bet on AI Data Centers,Merlin Properties Offering Prices at EU13.64/Share
- BMPS IM : Paschi Strips Lovaglio of CEO Role After He Defied Board
- NDX1 GY : Nordex to equip 28-MW wind farm in Saxony-Anhalt
- NVDA US : Nvidia-Backed Startup Seeking to Counter Chinese AI Eyes $25 Billion Valuation -- WSJ
- ONON US : On’s Second CEO Change in a Year Could Indicate Bigger Issues at the Company - WWD
- PSM GY : ProSieben 4Q Sales Miss Estimates, ProSieben FY Sales EU3.68B
- PUIG SM : Puig, Estée Lauder Families Negotiate Stakes in Deal: Expansion
- QDT FP : Quadient FY Ebitda Misses Estimates
- RGTI US : Rigetti Plans $100 Million Investment in UK Quantum System
- SAGAA SS : Blackstone Sells Lisbon Portfolio to Sagax for About €90 Million
- SHA0 GY : BaFin Fined Schaeffler For Market Abuse Regulation Violation
- G24 GY : Scout24 2025 Dividend per Share Misses Estimates
- S92 GY : SMA Solar Maintains 2026 Sales Forecast
- SPIE FP : Spie to Buy SGS Industrial Services; No Terms
- TRI FP : Trigano 2Q Like-for-Like Sales +4.6%
- UCB BB : UCB Positive Opinion for New Zilbrysq Zilucoplan Pen in EU
- UN0 GY : Germany’s Uniper warns EU methane rules will hit Europe’s energy supplies - FT
- VOW GY : Volkswagen’s Skoda to Pull out of China This Year After Slump
- WAC GY : Wacker Neuson Sees 2026 Ebit Margin 6.5% to 7.5%
- WSU GY : Washtec FY Revenue Meets Estimates
- WEW GY : Westwing Group FY Revenue Meets Estimates; Westwing Sees 2026 Revenue EU470M to EU495M, Est. EU486.3M