Global stocks rise as oil slides on Gulf peace hopes

MSCI’s global equities index rose on Friday and oil prices fell on fresh hopes for a peace deal between Iran and the US, while investors awaited the hotly anticipated market debut of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

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Stocks had rallied sharply on Thursday after US President Donald Trump said the countries were close to a deal. But, on Friday, terms of a proposed memorandum to end the war in the Gulf outlined by Western, Pakistani and Iranian sources on Friday appeared to strongly favour Iran, drawing criticism from Trump, who called the reports inaccurate.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that an “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding” for addressing the U.S-Israeli war on Iran had “never been closer”, but urged media outlets to refrain from speculating about its contents until it was finalised.

US Treasury yields rose while the dollar edged up from morning declines. While investors were hopeful for Middle East progress, Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management, said they were anxious for details, “You never know what the final details will be. You never know which side has the whole story. That's what markets have been really grappling with, not knowing who to believe," said the money manager who added that after the “really large pop” on Thursday, some investors were taking profits on Friday.