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US Equity Indexes Scale New Peaks Amid Tech Gains as Trump Close to Making Decision on Iran Peace Deal

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US equity indexes rose amid a surge in technology names and as President Donald Trump appeared close to announcing his decision on a preliminary Iran peace agreement.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.4% to 27,031.2, with the S&P 500 up 0.4% to 7,593.9, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher by 0.8% to 51,077.9 after midday on Friday.

Materials and financials were the only other sectors in positive territory intraday. Consumer staples, communication services, and energy led the decliners.

Dell Technologies (DELL) shares catapulted 28%, the top gainer on the S&P 500, after the company reported overnight fiscal Q1 financial results that topped analyst estimates and issued higher-than-expected guidance for fiscal Q2 and the full year.

President Donald Trump is making a "final determination" on a preliminary deal to extend a ceasefire with Iran after mixed messages from both sides over when an agreement might be struck, he said on Friday, according to a report from Bloomberg.

"I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination," Trump said in a social media post.

Iranian officials have used the talks to project confidence that they retain significant military options should diplomacy fail, CNN reported Friday. Any renewed conflict would spread "far beyond the region," threatening "crushing blows" and "utter ruin" in places opponents "cannot even imagine," the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were cited as saying.

Brent crude futures fell 1.7% to $92.05, and West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures declined 1.1% to $87.80.

In precious metals, gold futures jumped 1.3% to $4,592.8, while silver futures slipped by less than 0.1% to $75.85.

Most US Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year down 2.1 basis points to 4.43%. The two-year declined 3.5 basis points to 3.99%.

In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management's Chicago PMI reading jumped to 62.7 in May from 49.2 in April, larger than the expected 50.3 reading in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and the highest reading in over four years.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said Friday that she is seeking greater clarity on the Middle East conflict before determining the monetary policy path forward.

"Economic research suggests that, in response to temporary adverse energy supply shocks, policy should not be overly aggressive at stabilizing total inflation to keep employment close to our maximum-employment goal," Bowman said at the Reykjavik Economic Conference.

Further in company news, Costco Wholesale (COST) posted higher fiscal Q3 earnings and revenue late Thursday. The company's net new warehouse openings in fiscal 2026 are, however, set to be below its previous guidance, according to an earnings conference call following the results. Its shares dropped 4.7%, among the worst performers on the Nasdaq.

The Dow's leader was IBM (IBM), with shares soaring 9.5%, after the company said in a filing that it plans to invest more than $10 billion over the next five years to support quantum computing development.

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European Stocks Close Mixed; Trump to Make Final Determination on US, Iran Peace Deal

The European stock markets closed mixed in Friday trading as President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that he will make a final determination on the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran.The Stoxx Europe rose 0.2%, Germany's DAX gained 0.1%, the FTSE 100 slid 0.1%, France's CAC retreated 0.1%, and the Swiss Market Index closed 0.3% higher.In corporate news, former BP chair Albert Manifold met with activist investor Elliott Management without directly notifying other board members, Reuters reported Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter.BP removed Manifold less than eight months into the role over governance and conduct concerns, with some board members viewing his meetings with Elliott as unilateral actions, according to the report. Manifold had notified BP's investor relations team about the meetings, which were expected to be included in regular board updates, Reuters added.BP did not immediately reply to' request for comment.Shares of BP were little changed in London.UBS cut several hundred jobs across its Europe, Middle East and Africa operations in its latest round of reductions linked to the 2023 Credit Suisse takeover, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.UBS toldthat it aims to keep job cuts from the Credit Suisse integration as low as possible, with reductions phased over several years and largely achieved through natural attrition, early retirement, internal mobility, and bringing outsourced roles in-house. It is also focusing on internalizing third-party roles to reduce the overall impact.Shares of the Swiss bank advanced 1% in Zurich.Stellantis' Chrysler is recalling 419,035 vehicles in the US because a software error could delay side air bag deployment during a crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday.The regulator said the recall covers certain 2022-2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2023-2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee L models.Shares of the automaker dropped 1.5% in Paris.BHP could face a possible labor action by 200 workers at Port Hedland in Western Australia, potentially disrupting iron ore exports worldwide, the Electrical Trades Union said.In a statement to, the union said it "will vote on work stoppages following six months of failed talks" with BHP. BHP said in a statement tothat it continues "constructive engagement to reach an outcome that maintains industry-leading pay and conditions while supporting safe, productive and sustainable operations."Shares of the mining company rose 1% in London.AstraZeneca said late Thursday its Imfinzi, in combination with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer.The approval was based on a phase 3 study that showed a 32% reduction in the risk of high-risk disease recurrence, progression or death after one year of treatment.Additionally, AstraZeneca's Alexion Rare Disease unit said Friday that a phase 3 clinical program evaluating anselamimab in light chain amyloidosis did not meet its primary endpoint in the overall patient population.Shares of the British pharmaceutical company were slightly up in London.

Asia Markets

British Equities Close Little Changed; US-Iran Negotiations Progress

Britain's FTSE 100 ended the week 0.09% in the red as the US and Iran reportedly reached a preliminary deal to extend the ceasefire for 60 days, which remains subject to US President Donald Trump's final approval.However, Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency cited a source as saying the proposed memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington remained unfinished after changes to the text in recent days, while also pushing back on some media reports on the potential deal, Al Jazeera reported.Back home and in corporate news, Ocado Group (OCDO.L) agreed to develop supermarket and petrol station chain Asda's online business across the UK with the Ocado Smart Platform, sending the London-listed grocery technology group's shares up 7.11% on Friday's close. The partnership is set to go live in early 2027, allowing Asda to offer online services such as scheduled and short lead-time orders, as well as click and collect."The deal broadens Ocado's UK exposure beyond existing partnerships and further positions the company as a technology and fulfilment enabler across multiple operating models, including store-based ecommerce fulfilment," AlphaValue/Baader Europe said. "While management does not expect a material FY26 financial contribution, the partnership improves medium-term revenue visibility and supports Ocado's pathway toward positive free cash flow generation in H2 FY26 and FY27."Meanwhile, AstraZeneca (AZN.L) received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for Imfinzi, or durvalumab, plus Bacillus Calmette-Guérin induction and maintenance therapy for adults with BCG-naïve, high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. The drugmaker was up 0.48%.It was a quiet day for local economic news, with investors anticipating the final S&P Global PMI figures, Bank of England mortgage and consumer credit reports, and Nationwide and Halifax house price data next week.

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Asia Markets

DAX Index Ends Week Flat; German Inflation Eases

Local equities climbed on the last trading day of the month, with the blue-chip DAX index up 0.05% at Friday's close, with investors weighing the latest batch of German economic data against tentative hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the Middle East conflict.According to data from Destatis, German annual inflation slowed to 2.6% in May, against the previous and expected 2.9%. The core inflation rate, which excludes food and energy prices, rose to 2.5% from 2.3% in April."Today's inflation data was a welcome, though not fully unexpected, surprise. However, it would be naive to think that the inflation wave has stopped before it really got started. Instead, inflation will crawl up in the coming months, probably reaching 4% by late summer. However, we take today's data as another piece of evidence that any repetition of the 2022 inflation shock is unlikely," ING said.On the jobs front, federal agency Bundesagentur für Arbeit reported that Germany's unemployment rate slipped to 6.3% in May from 6.4% in April, below the consensus estimate of 6.4%. The number of unemployed individuals in Germany declined by 12,000, compared with the revised 19,000 increase earlier and the expected 11,000 jump, according to Investing.com data.In geopolitical news, reports from Axios and Bloomberg of a tentative 60-day ceasefire extension between the US and Iran, alongside the resumption of talks about Iran's nuclear program, boosted investor sentiment. US Vice President JD Vance told reporters that the two sides were "going back and forth on a couple of language points.""Those headlines helped to drive a sharp move lower for oil yesterday. So Brent crude pared back its earlier gains to close -0.62% lower, hitting a one-month low of $93.71 [per barrel], with further declines overnight to $92.40/bbl. Indeed, it also means that oil prices are down over -18% over May as a whole, which would make this the biggest monthly decline since March 2020, back when the Covid-19 pandemic began and the world moved into lockdowns," Deutsche Bank Research wrote.On the corporate side, Deutsche Post (DHL.F), d/b/a DHL Group, unit DHL eCommerce, and the United States Postal Service signed an exclusive last-mile parcel delivery agreement. Expected to be worth over $10 billion, the multi-year deal will allow the German logistics group's subsidiary to scale its US market footprint. DHL fell 0.16% at the end of the session.

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