Wall Street and Asia Rally After Trump Hints at Iran Peace
Global stock markets rallied after US President Donald Trump said the United States was getting closer to a peace deal with Iran. This statement encouraged market participants to return to riskier assets, as the prospect of a easing of the Middle East conflict was seen as reducing pressure on energy markets and global inflation.
Positive sentiment from Wall Street also spread to Asian markets. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 2.6%, snapping a two-day losing streak. South Korea's Kospi surged 8.2%, driven by strengthening chip stocks and optimism about the artificial intelligence sector. Elsewhere, Japan's Topix rose 2.1%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 strengthened 1.8%, while Hang Seng futures rose 0.9%.
In commodity markets, oil prices weakened after Trump withdrew his threat of military action against Iran and opened the door to signing a peace deal this weekend in Europe. Brent fell 1.4% to around US$89.10 per barrel. The decline in oil prices helped ease concerns that surging energy prices would push up inflation again and force central banks to maintain high interest rates for longer.
However, the market remains cautious as Iran has not yet formally agreed to any deal text with the US. Furthermore, US producer inflation data continues to show higher-than-expected price pressures, although core inflation was lower. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond edged up to 4.47%, while gold weakened after previously rising more than 3%. This means the market is enjoying a peaceful euphoria, but its future direction still depends heavily on certainty regarding US-Iran diplomacy, inflation, and central bank policy. (asd)
Source: Newsmaker.id
