Global stock markets were mixed on Friday, even after Wall Street hit another record, as investors awaited signs of further US-Iran talks and an extension of the ceasefire in the Iran war, which expires next week.
Oil prices fell on Friday while U.S. futures rose slightly.
President Trump indicated on Thursday that he was willing to extend the two-week ceasefire in the Iran war, and Iran’s UN envoy said Tehran remained “cautiously optimistic” about negotiations with the US.
As optimism grew over an extended ceasefire, oil prices fell early Friday after rising a day earlier. Brent crude, the international standard, was 3.2% lower at $96.25 a barrel. It had risen about 40% since the Iran war began at the end of February. The benchmark U.S. crude oil price fell 3.6% to $87.86 a barrel.
Global energy shocks are worsening due to the fallout from the Iran war, with the Strait of Hormuz remaining largely closed while the US has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports. The head of the International Energy Agency told the Associated Press on Thursday that Europe still had “maybe six weeks or so” of fuel supplies and warned of flight cancellations “soon.”
In stocks, U.S. futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%, while futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each gained 0.3% on Friday.
At the start of European trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 index fell 0.2% to 10,567.17. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.4% to 8,293.21, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.6% to 24,308.82.
Asian stocks were mostly in the red. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 1.8% to 58,475.90 after hitting an all-time high on Thursday. South Korea’s Kospi was 0.6% lower at 6,191.92. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.9% to 26,160.33. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.1% to 4,051.43.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1%. Taiwan’s Taiex was down 0.9% while India’s Sensex rose 0.7%.
