NEW YORK/MILAN, May 22 : Major stock indexes rose and Treasury yields eased on Friday as investors weighed the likelihood of a near-term deal to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.Oil prices gained, with uncertainty surrounding the Iran talks still a concern.U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States has seen some progress toward a deal with Iran, but more work is required. Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said the two sides' differences were deep and significant.Pakistan's military chief arrived in Tehran on Friday to press on with mediation efforts to end the conflict.
On Wall Street, the Dow posted a record closing high, and the S&P 500 registered an eighth straight week of gains. Stocks have been driven higher by booming demand for AI-related stocks, even as concerns about economic fallout from the war remain. European shares finished at their highest level in more than a month and logged their biggest weekly gain in seven."You're starting to see a larger negative correlation between bond yields and stock prices," said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise. "Now that we're out of the earnings season, these macro conditions may be a bigger factor."The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 2.6 basis points to 4.558 per cent, from 4.584 per cent late on Thursday. A selloff early in the week led yields to hit months- or years-long highs, with the 10-year yield on Tuesday reaching its highest level since January 2025.Investors are worried that ongoing energy disruptions because of the conflict will filter through to core consumer prices, potentially forcing a tighter monetary policy response.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 294.04 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 50,579.70, the S&P 500 gained 27.75 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 7,473.47 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 50.87 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 26,343.97.MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe rose 5.66 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 1,112.55. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.73 per cent, helped by technology stocks.Turkey's financial markets rebounded after being rattled this week by political moves against the country's main opposition party. The benchmark BIST 100 index rose 4.9 per cent in Istanbul, recovering from a 6 per cent plunge on Thursday that had triggered a suspension of trading after a top court moved to effectively oust main opposition leader Ozgur Ozel.OIL UP, U.S. CONSUMER SENTIMENT DOWNInvestors also digested a survey showing U.S. consumer sentiment plunged to a record low in May as surging gasoline prices fuelled anxiety over worsening affordability.Oil prices finished higher. U.S. crude rose 25 cents to settle at $96.60 a barrel and Brent gained 96 cents to settle at $103.54.The dollar held near six-week highs as traders monitored talks on the war and assessed whether the U.S. Federal Reserve would raise interest rates if inflation continued to accelerate.Kevin Warsh was sworn in as Fed chair on Friday.The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro,rose 0.04 per cent to 99.24, with the euro down 0.06 per cent at $1.1611.Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.11 per cent to 159.13.Data on Friday showed Japan's core inflation slowed to a four-year low in April, complicating the outlook for Bank of Japan policy.Spot gold fell 0.78 per cent to $4,506.47 an ounce.
