Global Markets Show Mixed Trend As Clarity On US-Iran Peace Talks Remains Elusive

Global equity markets on Friday showed mixed trends as clarity remained elusive about the long-awaited United States-Iran peace talks resumption even as Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire.

Dow Futures and S&P Futures were trading almost flat with marginal gains of 0.13 percent and 0.003 percent, respectively, according to Bloomberg TV, as of 2:00 ET on April 16.

This was in line with the muted show of the Dow and S&P 500. While the former ended just 0.24 percent higher, or 115 points, the latter rose 0.26 percent, or 18 points.

On the other hand, Asian markets were trading lower, except for the Indian equities market. Japan’s Nikkei was down by 0.96 percent, or 557 points, while South Korea’s Kospi slipped over 0.6 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng faced a bigger loss, declining 1.26 percent, or 335 points.

On the domestic front, India’s Sensex and Nifty remained stable with a modest rise of 0.25 percent each.

Most Asian markets had posted gains on Thursday, but a lack of clarity about the resumption of peace talks between the United States and Iran has led to a muted show as the week ends.

The confusion was reflected in the 0.1 percent decline of the MSCI All Country World Index, the broadest measure of global shares.

However, President Donald Trump said that the US is “very close” to making a deal with Iran and that another meeting between the two countries could take place this weekend.

The US leader also said that Iran has agreed not to have a nuclear weapon and that the agreement currently being negotiated “goes beyond 20 years.”

Meanwhile, Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire with immediate effect.

Trump said the ceasefire includes Hezbollah as well. He added that Israel’s prime minister and Lebanon’s president could meet in Washington over the next week or two.

Despite progress on diplomatic fronts, the United States has continued to blockade Iranian ports. The US Central Command said that American forces had turned around 14 vessels in the past 72 hours.