Asian markets rally as US-Iran sign peace deal; oil tumbles

We are back with quick updates on global stock markets, commodities and major economic developments happening across the world that you should not miss.

In a promising start to the week, global markets rallied strongly on Monday after the US and Iran agreed to sign a peace deal nearly four months after entering a war.

Asia-Pacific markets staged a smart recovery as inflation risks subsided after US President Donald Trump announced that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen without the toll system on the signing of the peace agreement on June 19.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed as much as 5.4% to 69,594, while South Korea’s Kospi was up 5.5% to 8,573. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also rose 0.6% to 24,866 as China’s Shanghai Composite index gained 0.9% to 4,069. Singapore’s Straits Times jumped 1.2% to 5,087. Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.28% to 8,917.

Wall Street had also closed the trading session on Friday on a positive note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had inched up 0.7% to 51,202. S&P 500 was up 0.5% to 7,431.45, while Nasdaq 100 had gained 0.6% to 29,636.

The oil markets saw the most significant movement as an end to the disruption to Hormuz looked near. The US crude oil futures for July delivery tumbled 5% to $80.56 per barrel by 10:25 pm ET. Brent futures, the international benchmark, for August delivery traded about 4.7% lower to $83.26 per barrel.

Gold, however, continued to rise for a third straight session as risk premium lingered with analysts fearing that the deal isn’t actually signed yet and the details remain thin.

Spot gold advanced 2.5% to $4,325.21 per ounce by 0356 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for ​August delivery rose 2.5% to $4,346.34.

Here's a look at some other major developments across global markets:

New template for mega US IPOs

The smooth launch of SpaceX’s mega IPO on Nasdaq on Friday has instilled confidence in the US trading firms and exchanges to deal with the upcoming giant IPOs of OpenAI and Anthropic later this year.

Despite the huge size of the Space X IPO, the investor community was relieved that the trading systems at the banks underwriting the issue, exchanges, market makers, clearinghouses, and other market infrastructure firms processed millions of client orders without any glitches.

Singapore to establish OTC gold clearing system

In a bid to establish itself as a gold trading hub, Singapore announced on Monday that it will establish an over-the-counter (OTC) gold clearing system.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong announced that the country will also introduce central bank gold-vaulting services. DBS, Deutsche Bank, ICBC Standard Bank, JPMorgan, OCBC and UOB will be the clearing members, he said.

UK and Japan agree on investment deal

The UK and Japan have signed an £18 billion investment deal to build a “new era of co-operation" between the two countries.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced that Japanese firms will spend more than £9 billion on the UK infrastructure and financial services and up to £9 billion on the UK offshore wind, creating tens of thousands of jobs.

Canadian PM warns again about breakdown of global order

Ahead of the upcoming G-7 summit, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has warned that the ‘rules-based’ global order is ‘breaking down’ and reiterated his vision of a shift from the current world order.

Carney appealed to the leaders of what he called the “middle powers” to unite and find their collective strength.

Kazakhstan’s HKEX planning dual listings for miners

Kazakhstan’s special financial zone Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) and Hong Kong’s bourse HKEX are actively engaging with mining companies in Kazakhstan to explore dual-listing opportunities in the city.

AIFC governor Renat Bekturov said that new channels are being created through which capital, expertise, innovation and investment opportunities can move more efficiently between Hong Kong, Kazakhstan and the wider Central Asian region.