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Persian Gulf Outlook Lifts Wall Street Pre-Bell; Asia Up, Europe Lags

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Wall Street futures pointed higher pre-bell Thursday, after President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday to conclude Persian Gulf hostilities.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 1.9% to $75.35 a barrel in pre-bell trades, on prospects that oil tankers will soon transit the Strait of Hormuz.

In the futures, the S&P 500 rose 0.8%, the Nasdaq advanced 1.5%, and the Dow Jones was up 0.4%. US stock markets will be closed on Friday for a holiday.

Asian exchanges traded mostly higher overnight, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index rising 1.7% to strike 71,053.49, closing above the 70,000-milestone for the first time.

European bourses tracked moderately lower midday on the continent.

Accenture (ACN) declined 9.9% pre-bell after the consulting company posted fiscal Q3 earnings and full-year guidance.

On the economic calendar is the weekly jobless claims bulletin at 8:30 am ET,

along with the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index for June.

The May leading indicators report logs at 10 am, and the weekly EIA natural gas bulletin at 10:30 am.

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

In pre-market action, Bitcoin traded at $63,892, and 10-year US Treasuries offered 4.45%. Spot gold commanded $4,266 an ounce.

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