financetom
World
financetom
/
World
/
Stocks rise, oil and dollar slide on Middle East peace hopes
News World Market Environment Technology Personal Finance Politics Retail Business Economy Cryptocurrency Forex Stocks Market Commodities
Stocks rise, oil and dollar slide on Middle East peace hopes
May 24, 2026 4:52 PM

SINGAPORE, May 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures rose on Monday while the dollar and oil prices slipped as the prospect of a deal to end the Iran war buoyed risk appetite although a lack of clarity over when the Strait of Hormuz would open kept enthusiasm in check. 

The nearly three month war in the Middle East has sent energy prices soaring and rewired global rates outlook due to worries over inflation as Tehran effectively shut down the strait through which much of the world's energy supply passes.  

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he had told his representatives not to rush into any deal with Iran, as his administration played down hopes of an imminent breakthrough. 

Just a day earlier, Trump had said that Washington and Iran had "largely negotiated" a memorandum of understanding on a peace deal that would reopen the waterway, which before the conflict carried one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.

Oil prices hit two-week lows to kickstart the week with Brent crude futures down over 4% to $98.83 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 was at $92.03 a barrel, also down over 4%. [O/R]

The euro was up 0.37% at $1.1646, while the Japanese yen firmed to 158.85 per U.S. dollar in early trading as the safe haven dollar gave up some of its recent gains. 

Nasdaq futures were 0.89% higher and S&P futures were up 0.6%. 

Nick Twidale, chief market analyst at ATFX Global, expects the market to embrace more risk on Monday but not to surge higher until there is confirmation that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen. 

"We will need to see an agreement out in place in the coming sessions as we know there are still some major sticking points," he said.

Japan's Nikkei was poised for a strong start to Monday's session. 

The most important issues for financial markets are when the Strait of Hormuz will re-open,  Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategists said in a note.

"Under what conditions the Strait will re-open and how long it will take to repair production facilities and infrastructure to ramp up production of energy and other goods to pre-war levels," they said.

Comments
Welcome to financetom comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Related Articles >
CANADA STOCKS-TSX posts second straight weekly decline as investor caution grows
CANADA STOCKS-TSX posts second straight weekly decline as investor caution grows
Nov 7, 2025
(Updates at market close) * TSX ends up 0.2% at 29,912.19 * For the week, the index loses 1.15% * Materials group adds 1.4% as gold rises * Tech sector falls 2.6% By Pranav Kashyap and Fergal Smith TORONTO, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index ended higher on Friday as investors weighed prospects of an end to the...
JGB yields rise as BOJ's summary drives early rate hike caution
JGB yields rise as BOJ's summary drives early rate hike caution
Nov 9, 2025
TOKYO, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond (JGB) yields rose on Monday as the Bank of Japan's policy meeting summary stoked caution for an early interest hike, prompting investors to sell bonds. The five-year bond yield rose as much as 2 basis points to 1.265%, its highest level since July 2008. The 10-year JGB yield rose 2 bps to...
CANADA-CRUDE-Discount on Western Canada Select widens
CANADA-CRUDE-Discount on Western Canada Select widens
Nov 7, 2025
Nov 7 (Reuters) - The discount on Western Canada Select to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures widened on Friday. WCS for December delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $11.65 a barrel under the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared to Thursday's close of $11.45. * The differential is higher than last month but remains tight by...
Nasdaq Logs Worst Week Since March Amid Tech Valuation Worries
Nasdaq Logs Worst Week Since March Amid Tech Valuation Worries
Nov 7, 2025
05:14 PM EST, 11/07/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Nasdaq Composite fell for a second straight session on Friday to log its worst week since the end of March amid continued valuation concerns. The Nasdaq closed 0.2% lower at 23,004.5. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 traded in negative territory for most of the day, but managed to...
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.financetom.com All Rights Reserved