Markets rose slightly on news that the ceasefire appears to be holding, while oil prices also continued to climb.
ADVERTISEMENT
Investors kept an eye on the Middle East on Wednesday as a fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel appeared to hold after initial shakiness.
Both sides claimed victory; Iran’s president said Israel had suffered a “historic punishment”, while Israel’s prime minister argued the offensive had removed “the Iranian nuclear threat”.
A new US intelligence report nonetheless found that Tehran’s nuclear programme had only been set back by a few months by US strikes. Washington denied the findings of the leaked report.
Early in Europe, Brent crude had risen around 1.15% to $67.91 a barrel, while WTI was 1.21% higher at $65.15. The prices suggest the market has still not fully calmed after the conflict in the Middle East, with investors continuing to monitor the shaky ceasefire.
US President Trump rebuked both countries for violating the announced ceasefire on Tuesday.
“Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I’ve never seen before, the biggest load that we’ve seen,” he said.
On his social media platform, Truth Social, he wrote: “Israel, do not drop those bombs. If you do, it is a major violation. Bring your pilots home, now!”
Trump claimed that neither Iran nor Israel "know what the f*** they're doing".
Stocks, meanwhile, rose modestly on Wednesday.
France's CAC 40 was up 0.4% at 7,647.07 in morning trading, Germany's DAX rose 0.08% to 23,660.55, the UK's FTSE 100 increased 0.35% to 8,790.03, and Italy's FTSE MIB rose 0.24% to 39,568.10.
The STOXX 600 jumped 0.35% to 542.88, while the STOXX 50 rose 0.21% to 5,308.40.
Looking to the US, Dow Jones futures were 0.06% higher at 43,452.00, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.05% to reach 6,149.25.
In Asian trading, the Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.44% to 3,435.60, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.31% to 38,910.93, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 0.78% to 24,364.79, while South Korea’s Kospi was almost flat, rising 0.01% to 3,104.20.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 notched up 0.09% to 8,563.20.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.13% at 97.98 although the currency has still failed to recover from losses seen earlier this year. The euro rose less than 1% against the dollar while the Japanese Yen dropped around 0.12% against its US safe-haven alternative.
“The situation in the Middle East is fluid. While the downside risks have subsided, the situation can change quickly and the balance of risks remains weighted toward higher oil prices,” said Ryan Sweet, Chief US Economist at Oxford Economics, on Tuesday.