Overview
- U.S. and Iranian officials agreed to halt recent hostilities and resume talks, a development reported on Monday that calmed immediate escalation fears and allowed tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to recover.
- Brent crude fell back toward pre-conflict levels as shipping normalized, trimming short-term supply‑disruption premia and easing price pressures for major oil importers.
- Investors rotated into riskier assets, with technology and semiconductor stocks rebounding and lifting U.S. indices — the Dow reached a fresh record after the tech-led rally.
- Strong U.S. labor readings and growing expectations of tighter Federal Reserve policy have kept the U.S. dollar firm, which has pressured gold and pushed the Japanese yen to multi-decade lows.
- Indian markets posted modest gains supported by lower crude and comments that an India–U.S. trade deal is close, while markets globally now focus on U.S. jobs reports and Fed commentary for the next big move.