Stocks Rise on Optimism Over a Possible Iran Ceasefire – Asia Market Wrap
Stocks climbed as investors cautiously returned to stocks on optimism that the six-week-old Middle East conflict could be curtailed, following reports that Iran is negotiating a truce. Crude oil saw its gains reversed.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.4%, with advancers and decliners evenly distributed in the benchmark, while technology stocks outperformed. Futures contracts for the S&P 500 Index reversed earlier losses to trade 0.3% higher.
Axios reported that the US, Iran, and a group of regional mediators are considering terms for a potential 45-day ceasefire that might lead to the war’s final end. Reports that additional ships travelled through the Hormuz Strait also helped, despite Trump’s increasingly strident threats to bomb Iran’s power plants beginning Tuesday.
Trump renewed his threats to target Iran’s civilian infrastructure, telling Axios that if Iran does not make a deal, he will “blow up everything over there.” Trump stated he will have a news conference on Monday at 1 PM local time and mentioned a deadline of Tuesday at 8 PM, but did not provide any details.
In other market developments, gold declined 0.6% to around $4,650 per ounce. Bullion has fallen by roughly 12% since the conflict began in late February, as rising energy costs fuelled inflation fears and decreased the likelihood for rate cuts, which generally benefit non-yielding precious metals.
