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Middle East, Tech Outlooks Support Wall Street Pre-Bell; Asia, Europe Up

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Wall Street futures pointed modestly higher pre-bell Friday following media reports that Tehran and Washington have tentatively agreed on a 60-day ceasefire, and a graduated re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

In the futures, the S&P 500 rose 0.1%, the Nasdaq inclined 0.1% and the Dow Jones was up 0.2%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil traded down 1.8% at $87.31.

Asian exchanges traded mostly higher overnight, with fresh zeniths set in Seoul, Taiwan and Tokyo on AI-sector optimism, while European bourses tracked moderately north midday on the continent.

Dell Technologies (DELL) traded up 36.6% pre-bell after the computer-maker reported fiscal Q1 results above consensus, and issued upbeat guidance for fiscal Q2 and the full year, late Thursday.

On the economic calendar is the international trade in goods bulletin for April, and the retail and wholesale inventories bulletins for April, at 8:30 am ET.

The Chicago purchasing managers index (PMI) for May logs at 9:45.

The weekly Baker Hughes oil-and-gas rig count posts at 1 pm.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michelle Bowman, Philadelphia President Anna Paulson, and San Francisco President Mary Daly are slated to speak on Friday.

In pre-market action, bitcoin traded at $73,524, and 10-year US Treasuries offered 4.45%. Spot gold commanded $4,534 an ounce.

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Philippines Business Confidence Further Drops in April as Middle East Conflict Hits

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Persian Gulf, Tech Outlooks Fuel Asian Stock Markets

Asian stock markets rallied on Friday, on prospects that the Strait of Hormuz may soon open to oil-tanker traffic, pursuant to a pending Iran-US ceasefire arrangement.Hong Kong and Tokyo finished in the green, while Shanghai lagged. Other regional exchanges largely gained ground, with new all-time highs set on equity indices in Seoul and Taiwan.Brent crude oil futures traded near $91.38 a barrel, off 1.3%, during Asian trading hours.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher and rose to the close, finishing up 2.5% on media reports that Tehran and Washington have tentatively agreed to extend a ceasefire for 60 days.The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1,636.38 to 66,329.50, to strike a fresh all-time zenith, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 162 to 61.Leading the upside was silicon-wafer maker Sumco, up 19.3%, while Mitsubishi Motors declined 8.5%.In economic news, Tokyo's consumer price index-core (CPI-core) that strips out fresh food bills, rose 1.3% on year in May, reported the Statistics Bureau.The nation's unemployment rate fell to 2.5% in April from 2.7% in March, added officials.The nation's retail sales in April grew 2.1% on-year, and industrial production in Japan increased by 2.3% in April on year, reported the Ministry of Economy Trade & Industry (METI).In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher and held ground, finishing up 0.7% on strength in property issues.The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 176.23 to 25,182.39, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 64 to 25. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.1% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 2%.Leading the upside was computer-maker and AI-hardware maker Lenovo, gaining 22%, while Semiconductor Manufacturing International declined 7.5%.On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.7% to 4,068.57.On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 3.6%; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 2.5%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 1.6%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 1%, and the Thai Set was steady. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 1.4%.The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index rose 1.7% on the day.

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