U.S. and Iran could sign an agreement on Sunday to open Hormuz - Bloomberg
An agreement to resume traffic in the Strait of Hormuz could be signed as early as this Sunday / Photo: GreenOak / Shutterstock.com
The United States and Iran are close to an agreement on the resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, sources told Bloomberg, including citing an unnamed Iranian official. According to them, the signing of the document is likely and, as previously reported, it will not be a final deal, but a memorandum of understanding. The parties could conclude the agreement as early as Sunday in Geneva, near Evian, France, where the G7 summit will be held June 15-17.
One of the agency's interlocutors said Iran has not yet confirmed its readiness for the signing ceremony and communication between Tehran and Washington has been slow.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency called reports about the details of the talks, including the time and place of the meeting, "media speculation," CNBC reported . The country's Foreign Ministry said Friday that the memorandum of understanding with the U.S. was not yet ready and mediators were working to resolve outstanding differences. However, it signaled that the sides had made progress.
How the markets are reacting
Hopes that a peace deal will be reached soon have brought down oil prices. August contracts for the benchmark Mark Brent fell by 3.3% to trade at $87.4 per barrel. The cost of July futures for Mark WTI fell by 3.4%, falling below $85 per barrel.
U.S. stocks jumped on the pre-market. Futures on the S&P 500 rose 0.2%, futures on the Nasdaq Composite added 0.4%, stock contracts on the Dow Jones rose 0.5%.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index jumped by 1.5%, the German DAX - by 1.6%, the French CAC 40 rose by almost 1.8%, the Italian FTSE MIB - by 1.9%. The British FTSE 100 rose by 1%.
Growth in European markets was led by shares of the tourism and entertainment sectors. Quotes of the German travel giant Tui soared by 8.6%, securities of the budget airline Ryanair rose by 8%, and the German air carrier Lufthansa increased 6.8% of the value. The capitalization of the holding company International Consolidated Airlines Group, which owns the brands British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus, increased by 6.5%. Quotes of low-cost carrier EasyJet rose by 3%.
Positive sentiment spread to the financial sector: Societe Generale shares rose by 5.8% and Deutsche Bank securities added 5.6%.
Shares of European luxury companies also showed growth. Shares of LVMH grew by 4%, shares of the owner of Gucci brand Kering - by 4.8%, Hermes adds 4.2%. The capitalization of the Swiss group Richemont increased by 3.4%.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
