Asian stocks gain, oil slips as Iran talks progress
A visitor stands next to an electronic screen displaying Japan’s Nikkei stock prices quotation board inside a conference hall in Tokyo, Japan March 4, 2026. REUTERS/Issei Kato
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
SYDNEY, June 22 : Asian share markets swung higher on Monday as Iranian negotiators said progress had been made in peace talks with the United States, helping calm fears the process was breaking down.
Officials from Qatar and Pakistan also released a statement saying the first session of talks had concluded and progress was made on a roadmap to reach a final deal in 60 days.
Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened fresh attacks on Iran as Vice President JD Vance met Iranian officials for the first talks under an interim peace deal.
The talks had also been overshadowed by Tehran’s announcement it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz, with shipping having slowed after U.S. Central Command said 55 vessels passed on Saturday, while tracking sites showed 32 the day before.
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
The apparent progress in discussions saw Brent crude futures shed early gains to ease 1.9 per cent to $79.01 a barrel, far away from its May peak of $126.41. The most active U.S. crude contract shed 0.7 per cent to $75.29 a barrel.
Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.8 per cent, having climbed almost 8 per cent last week to all-time highs. South Korea’s red-hot market added 0.6 per cent, after surging more than 11 per cent last week on demand for semiconductor stocks.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.8 per cent, while Chinese blue chips rose 1.6 per cent.
S&P 500 futures pared early losses to be off 0.3 per cent, while Nasdaq futures lost 0.2 per cent. In Europe, EUROSTOXX 50 futures edged down 0.2 per cent, while DAX futures lost 0.1 per cent and FTSE futures were little changed.
MARKET NARROWS ODDS ON FED HIKE
Treasuries remained under pressure following a hawkish turn by the Federal Reserve last week that led markets to price in a 75 per cent chance of a rate hike as early as September.
Futures imply 38 basis points of tightening by year-end, while yields on 2-year notes rose as much as 4 basis points to the highest since early 2025 at 4.230 per cent.
“Our baseline call is for patience and a first hike in the second half of 2027, but (we) believe the margin for error and the tolerance for further inflation is limited, with genuine risks of earlier hikes,” said Fabio Bassi, head of cross-asset strategy at JPMorgan.
“We remain constructive on risk assets as improving labour markets will keep rates higher for longer, supporting a narrow leadership in Quality Growth, Large Cap and Tech,” he added. “We see upside risks for the S&P target tilted towards 8,000.”
The Fed’s favoured gauge of core inflation is due on Thursday and is forecast to rise a tick to 3.4 per cent in May, underlining the risk of tighter policy.
Central bank speakers this week include Governor Christopher Waller and Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams.
The Fed’s hawkish outlook kept the dollar supported at 161.66 yen, with only the threat of Japanese intervention preventing a test of resistance at 161.96, a top from mid-2024.
The euro eased to $1.1454, after hitting a three-month low on Friday at $1.1418. Political uncertainty nudged sterling down 0.2 per cent to $1.3208.
Reports claimed Prime Minister Keir Starmer was considering his political future after rival Andy Burnham’s decisive election victory to parliament prompted more ministers in the governing Labour Party to call for him to go.
“Amid the uncertainty around a potential challenge against the UK PM and what that means for the fiscal outlook, the likelihood is that gilts will remain under selling pressure to start the week,” said Skye Masters, head of market research at NAB.
In commodity markets, news of the progress in peace talks helped gold bounce 0.4 per cent to $4,178 an ounce. [GOL/]
Source: Reuters
Sign up for our newsletters
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
About The Author
