ewsba.se
* Oil prices choppy on US-Iran peace negotiations
Market sentiment is cautiously optimistic, with investors anticipating a potential agreement between the US and Iran to end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This sentiment has influenced stock market movements and oil prices.
A peace deal is expected to lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil and natural gas transit point. This could ease supply concerns, causing oil prices to decline from their elevated levels.
US stocks are showing some pullback from record highs due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding the US-Iran peace negotiations. While strong chipmaker earnings and a generally robust economic environment provide support, investors are awaiting clearer signals from the Middle East situation.
The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime artery, with approximately one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passing through it under normal circumstances. Its reopening is a key factor in market expectations.
Tech stocks, particularly in the AI and semiconductor sectors, continue to be a strong market driver, with companies like Arm Holdings and Apple showing significant performance. However, investors are becoming more selective, focusing on companies with strong fundamentals and clear growth prospects.
* Yen stable after spikes, intervention jitters persist
By Lawrence Delevingne and Sophie Kiderlin
May 7 (Reuters) - U.S. and European stocks dipped and oil prices were volatile but ultimately little changed on Thursday after a report said Iran would not allow the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz with "an unrealistic plan." On Wall Street, major stock indexes pulled back slightly from the previous session's multiple records on strong chipmaker earnings. The S&P 500 fell 0.4%, the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5%. The United States and Iran were previously edging toward a limited and temporary agreement to halt their war, sources and officials said on Thursday, with a draft framework that would stop the fighting but leave the most contentious issues unresolved. In normal times, about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
Europe's STOXX 600 finished 1.1% lower, having jumped 2.2% on Wednesday, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hit a fresh all-time high, up 1.6%. Japan's Nikkei crossed 62,000 for the first time.
While the Middle East situation was uncertain, "the momentum is going in a good direction," and markets had taken note of it, Lombard Odier chief economist Samy Chaar said.
"So the oil price is down from its highs, which is obviously relieving pressure on yield curves and bond yields, and that is great news for equity valuation and makes currencies move a bit," Chaar said.
A strong earnings season and a relatively robust macroeconomic environment added to a positive market mood, Chaar added.
MSCI's All-Country World Index ticked down 0.1%, holding around record highs. Brent crude fell about 0.7% to $100.56 a barrel, having tumbled nearly 8% on Wednesday.
Even after that slide, Brent is still around 40% above its late-February level, when the war began, while 10-year Treasury yields have surged - a reminder of the strain higher energy costs continue to put on the global economy. Ten year U.S. Treasury yields rose by 3.4 basis points to 4.388%.
"Certainly the clock is ticking towards a point ... when the pace at which oil inventory drawdowns at the current pace become unsustainable and energy prices jump materially," Investec market strategists wrote in a note on Thursday.
Rocketing oil prices whacked global markets in March but a fragile ceasefire and prospect of a deal have spurred a risk-on rally since April that has been fueled by strong tech earnings reports.
S&P COMPANIES SET FOR ROBUST PROFIT GROWTH S&P 500 companies are on track for their strongest profit growth in more than four years, while blowout results from Samsung , SK Hynix and TSMC have reinforced the upbeat tone in Asia.
"U.S. earnings confirm a broad-based profit boom - record EPS (earnings per share) beats, all-time-high margins and sharply upgraded '26 growth expectations," Manish Kabra, a market strategist with Societe Generale, wrote in a client note on Thursday. Investors await the U.S. non-farm payrolls report on Friday, with jobs expected to have increased in April by 62,000 after rebounding 178,000 in March, a Reuters survey of economists shows.
In currency markets, the euro nudged up and last fetched $1.175. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six units, was flat. The yen remained in the spotlight after spikes in recent sessions prompted market speculation that Japan had intervened to support the long-battered currency.
The yen ticked down 0.2% at 156.66 per dollar, having hit a 10-week high of 155 on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne in Boston, Sophie Kiderlin in London and Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle, Nick Zieminski, Susan Fenton, Will Dunham and Nia Williams)
Catch all the Business News , Market News , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.