Shares rise, oil plummets with market sentiment buoyed by Iran-Israel truce
NEW YORK :Global shares were on track for a second straight day of gains on Tuesday with oil prices plummeting further as market sentiment was lifted by the easing of Middle East tensions, after Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire.
U.S. President Donald Trump had announced on Monday that Israel and Iran had reached a ceasefire to end their 12-day-old war. But both sides accused each other of violating the truce on Tuesday, sparking an extraordinary outburst from Trump.
On Wall Street, the three main indexes were trading higher, with the biggest gains in financials, technology, communication services, and consumer discretionary stocks. Energy shares were the main drag.
European shares were up 1 per cent, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan jumped 2.4 per cent overnight. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe rose 1.11 per cent to 899.97, trading near a record high reached on June 11.
"Markets are cheering what is looking to be a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, which means no major impact to supply of oil to global markets," said Talley Leger, chief market strategist at the Wealth Consulting Group. "Risk assets, including equities in general and cyclical pro-economy sectors of the market more specifically, have been rallying. Defensives and safe-haven assets have also been ebbing, which is consistent with what we've been saying and what we know historically."
Brent Crude futures were down 4.87 per cent at $67.99 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 4.89 per cent to $65.17. Both contracts had settled down more than 7 per cent in the previous session, having rallied to five-month highs after the U.S. attacked Iran's nuclear facilities over the weekend.
The U.S. dollar declined against major currencies including safe-haven Japanese yen and Swiss franc following the truce. The euro gained.
The dollar weakened 1.07 per cent to 144.57 against the Japanese yen and dropped 0.97 per cent to 0.805 against the Swiss franc. The euro was up 0.45 per cent at $1.1628.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.45 per cent to 97.80.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank needs more time to see if rising tariffs drive inflation higher before considering interest rate cuts. Powell spoke in testimony prepared for delivery on Tuesday at a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 1.6 basis points to 4.306 per cent. The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, fell 1 basis point to 3.819 per cent.
Germany's long-term government bond yields rose after the cabinet passed a draft budget for 2025. The yield on the benchmark German 10-year Bunds rose 2.4 basis points to 2.53 per cent.
Gold prices fell. Spot gold fell 1.8 per cent to $3,307.87 an ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 2.27 per cent to $3,301.00 an ounce.
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