Stocks across the globe rose sharply on Friday, as Iranian state media reported that a proposed peace deal would see the Strait of Hormuz reopen.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 2.8%, India’s Nifty 50 was up 1.3%, South Korea’s Kospi gained 4.6% and the Shanghai Composite was more than 1% higher.
European shares also jumped, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 gaining 1.8% while most major bourses added around 2% in morning trade.
On Wall Street, futures trading was more muted. S&P 500 futures added roughly 0.2%, while Nasdaq 100 futures moved marginally lower. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 234 points, or about 0.5%.
Investor sentiment was lifted Friday morning after Iranian state media reported that a draft version of the Iran-U.S. memorandum of understanding includes a commitment from the U.S. to lift oil sanctions, as well as a commitment from Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Iran’s Mehr News Agency, the 14-point document says final negotiations between the two sides will not begin until the release of half of Iran’s frozen funds, the suspension of Iran’s oil sanctions, and the lifting of the naval blockade on the waterway.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. had “just made a great settlement of the war with Iran,” subject to the “finalization of documents.” He said a signing of an agreement was expected to occur “over the next few days.”
Stocks rallied on Thursday, following a rebound in chip stocks and President Donald Trump signaling that the U.S. and Iran could soon sign a peace deal. The S&P 500 rose 1.75%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 2.54%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 929.97 points, or 1.86%.
In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi advanced 4.6%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.81%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 closed 1.2% higher at 4,777.32, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.6% as of its last hour of trading. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.98%.
Trump on Thursday told reporters in the Oval Office that a deal between the U.S. and Iran would have a “signing soon, and the documents are in pretty final shape. It should be done and it should be done pretty quickly.” The president added that under the deal, “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.” Equities had rallied earlier in the day, after Trump said in a Truth Social post that he had called off the strikes on Iran originally planned for Thursday evening.
Traders are also watching SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket maker, as it debuts on the Nasdaq. SpaceX, set to go public under the ticker symbol SPCX, has set a fixed price of $135 per share, which would put its valuation at $1.77 trillion.
The company plans to sell 555.6 million shares, amounting to a $75 billion fundraise that would be the largest initial public offering in history. It’s more than triple the size of Alibaba’s $22 billion offering in 2014, currently the biggest U.S. IPO to date.
If the IPO goes according to plan, it could offer a major catalyst for stocks on Friday. But some investors are concerned that due to the offering’s sheer size, it could pressure the market. Even if the market can digest these new shares of SpaceX, IPOs are known to be volatile, and Friday’s offering could trigger another rotation in tech leadership as investors find capital to fund their new issues.
“History indicates that large IPO issuance occurs during periods of strong equity market sentiment, but the added equity supply can cause some indigestion. Household equity exposure already sits close to an all-time high, which suggests they may sell existing holdings to fund these new positions,” wrote Wells Fargo Investment Institute global equity strategist Douglas Beath. “Combined with the ongoing geopolitical tensions and the upcoming midterm elections, it could be one more reason for markets to display greater choppiness in the second half.”
“We remain favorable on the AI theme and the Information Technology sector but would not chase this run up,” he added, noting that as of May 29 the sector has gained 37% since April compared to the S&P 500’s 17% advance in the same period.
Thursday’s rally lifted the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite back into the green for the week, with the indexes on pace to add 0.14% and 0.39%, respectively. The blue-chip Dow trailed behind, on pace to end the week 0.04% lower.
Investors will also be watching for June’s preliminary reading of the Michigan Sentiment index on Friday morning.
