This content was published on
June 19, 2026 - 00:05
4 minutes
(Bloomberg) — Stocks in Asia were poised to rise Friday after a peace deal between the US and Iran boosted optimism that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz will ease inflation pressures by restoring oil flows.Equity-index futures for Japan and South Korea pointed to gains at the open, while contracts for Australia edged lower. US stock futures edged higher after the S&P 500 climbed 1.1% and the Nasdaq 100 gained 2.5% on Thursday. A gauge of semiconductor stocks rose to a record, led by Intel Corp., after President Donald Trump said the company would work with Apple Inc. to design and manufacture semiconductors in the US.West Texas Intermediate crude oil steadied in early trading on Friday after Trump signed an interim agreement to end the war with Iran and tankers began transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The yield on 10-year Treasuries were little changed at around 4.45% on Thursday, while the dollar gained 0.3%.As the accord took effect, commercial shipping began returning to the strategic waterway after the US declared an end to its blockade, helping calm fears of a sustained shock to global energy supplies. Attention now shifts to talks over Tehran’s nuclear program and the durability of the ceasefire, and whether lower oil prices and easing inflation pressures can be maintained.“The progress toward releasing oil supply from the Persian Gulf has supported equity prices,” said Ian Lyngen at BMO Capital Markets. “Lower energy costs have also eased forward inflationary concerns and led to meaningful declines in longer-dated Treasury yields.”US Vice President JD Vance downplayed concerns Iran could eventually impose tolls on traffic through the vital energy waterway. Earlier Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social that “oil is flowing.”US Treasuries recovered from a selloff after the new Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh positioned himself as a credible figure to fight inflation.Two-year Treasury yields steadied at around 4.18% Thursday, after hitting the highest in over a year Wednesday when traders ramped up bets on interest-rate hikes. Meanwhile, 30-year US debt rallied in a sign the market believes inflation will be contained over the longer term, with yields declining three basis points to 4.9%.Should lower energy costs continue to filter through to inflation data, policymakers may ultimately find sufficient justification to keep rates unchanged for an extended period rather than hiking, according to Fawad Razaqzada at Forex.com.“My view remains that inflation should moderate gradually over the coming months, and this might allow the Fed to maintain current policy settings rather than implement fresh tightening,” he said.Meantime, the Bank of England held rates at 3.75%, saying the recent drop in oil prices was “encouraging,” even as two of the nine policymakers voted for an immediate quarter-point hike over concerns of persistent inflation.Corporate Highlights:SpaceX is proving that even the largest-ever IPO is not immune to the type of volatility that tends to rock big companies after they go public, with the shares falling for a second straight day. Amazon.com Inc. is in talks to sell its custom-made artificial intelligence chips for use in other companies’ data centers, a key expansion of its efforts to cut into Nvidia Corp.’s dominance. Accenture Plc said it’s expecting to reel in less revenue in the coming months, as artificial intelligence upends the consulting services industry and clients paused business due to the conflict in the Middle East. Some of the main moves in markets:StocksS&P 500 futures were little changed as of 7:01 a.m. Tokyo time Hang Seng futures fell 0.2% S&P/ASX 200 futures fell 0.6% CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3% The euro was little changed at $1.1460 The Japanese yen was little changed at 161.42 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7785 per dollar The Australian dollar was little changed at $0.7015 CryptocurrenciesBitcoin fell 0.2% to $62,911.2 Ether fell 0.1% to $1,706.23 CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.2% to $76.48 a barrel Spot gold was little changed This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
