Global stock markets exhibited a mixed performance on Friday, with Asia-Pacific exchanges predominantly finishing lower, as investors evaluated the sustainability of a U.S.-brokered peace agreement with Iran. The U.S. stock and bond markets are currently closed in observance of the Juneteenth public holiday. Futures markets will persist in their operations, albeit with restricted hours, while equity trading will cease at 1:00 p.m. Vice President JD Vance on Thursday defended President Donald Trump’s interim agreement with Iran, asserting that any economic relief for Tehran would be contingent upon the country adhering to the terms of the deal. “The United States isn’t relinquishing any financial resources to Iran,” Vance stated. “The only way the Iranians get any of these resources … is if they comply fully” with the terms of the deal.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, characterised the agreement as conditional, stating on Thursday that he endorsed the memorandum only after obtaining assurances that Iran’s rights and the “resistance front” would be protected. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was last observed nearly 0.1% higher, reversing its previous decline, as gains in energy and healthcare stocks mitigated regional losses. In the U.K., 10-year gilt yields increased by over 7 basis points to 4.8247% following the release of official data indicating that government borrowing hit its highest level for May since 2019, resulting in a budget deficit of £23.3 billion. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Keir Starmer confronts an impending leadership challenge from Labour Party counterpart Andy Burnham, who is set to re-enter the British parliament following a special election victory on Thursday. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 increased by 0.28% to finish at 71,250.06, following a record high achieved on Thursday. In contrast, the Topix experienced a decline of 0.57%, concluding the trading day at 4,044.96.
South Korea’s Kospi experienced a decline of 0.13%, closing at 9,052.42, following its initial breach of the 9,000 threshold on Thursday. Concurrently, the small-cap Kosdaq saw a more significant decrease of 3.43%. Shares of Samsung Electronics experienced a reversal from earlier gains, declining by 2.34%, whereas SK Hynix saw an increase of 2.94%. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 declined by 0.92%, concluding the trading day at 8,828.7. The markets in the U.S., China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan are currently closed in observance of a holiday. U.S. stock futures exhibited a downward trend, with the S&P 500 futures declining by 0.21% and the Nasdaq 100 futures decreasing by 0.32%, as observed at 5:41 a.m. Futures associated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a decline of 0.1%.
Overnight in the U.S., stocks concluded the holiday-shortened week with gains. The three major indexes closed higher following the Federal Reserve’s indication of a potential rate hike this year — a development that had previously triggered a sell-off in equities during the prior session. The S&P 500 increased by 1.08%, concluding at 7,500.58, while the Nasdaq Composite rose by 1.91% to reach 26,517.93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 72.15 points, representing a 0.14% gain, concluding at 51,564.70.