By Dow Jones Newswires Staff
Oil prices nudged below $95 a barrel and U.S. stock futures were flat in placid early European trade, amid investor optimism around U.S.-Iran peace talks this week.
President Trump signaled the possibility of a second round of talks with Tehran this week, saying in an interview with Fox Business that the war in Iran is "very close to over."
The dollar was flat while sovereign bond yields edged lower in the U.S. and Europe in response.
Investors will watch out for Wednesday's release of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book for on the ground information on how the Middle East conflict is impacting U.S. businesses.
--In early European trading, Brent crude fell 0.1% to $94.70 a barrel, while WTI was down 0.4% to $90.88 a barrel. "The risk premium at the front of the oil curve has decreased since the cease-fire announcement as the perceived likelihood of a near-term peace deal has increased," analysts at Goldman Sachs said.
Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz haven't picked up yet, while the U.S. blockade threatens to squeeze supply further. However, partly offsetting that pressure, crude output disruptions across the Middle East appear less severe than expected, aided by greater-than-anticipated storage capacity both on land and at sea, according to the U.S. bank.
--U.S. stock futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is also flat. If the index gains Wednesday, it will extend its winning streak to 11 consecutive trading days, which would match its previous longest positive run in November 2021.
Bank of America and Morgan Stanley report ahead of the opening bell. Wednesday is U.S. tax day.
--Asian equities were mixed. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed 0.4% higher and South Korea's Kospi grew 2.1%. China's Shanghai Composite Index closed flat. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was last 0.4% higher.
--European blue-chip indexes were mixed at trading open as luxury stocks tumbled. France's luxury-heavy CAC 40 slid 0.6%. Hermes and Gucci-owner Kering fell 12% and 9.3%, respectively, as earnings disappointed investors. The selloff bled into Italian luxury stocks, though losses were countered by gains for banks and auto group Stellantis--up 3.6%. The FTSE MIB was flat. The German DAX edged up 0.15% on gains for autos, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.2% as housing stocks rallied. The Spanish IBEX 35 was flat, while the Dutch AEX was 0.2% higher.
--The dollar traded steady after reaching a six-week low Tuesday driven by reduced safe-haven flows and lower oil prices. Uncertainty over the situation keeps the dollar from extending Tuesday's losses with investors awaiting more concrete progress toward a peace deal. The DXY dollar index traded flat at 98.157 after falling to as low as 97.969 Tuesday.
--U.S. Treasury yields edged slightly lower in Asian trade, with market sentiment cautiously optimistic. Long-end Treasury yields declined more than short-end yields, causing the curve to flatten. The two-year Treasury yield was down 0.4 bps at 3.746%, the 10-year Treasury yield falls 0.8 bps to 4.247% and the 30-year yield is down 1.1 bps at 4.857%, according to Tradeweb.
Eurozone government bond yields fall in early trade. The 10-year German Bund yield fell 3.1 basis points to 3.000% and Italy's 10-year BTP yield was down 3.7 basis points at 3.751%. Italy plans a dual-tranche bond syndication on Wednesday while Germany has a triple-tranche auction of ultra-long Bunds.
--Bitcoin fell 0.3% to $73,934 after reaching a 10-week high of $76,073 Tuesday.
--Gold prices eased in early European trading but remain above $4,800 a troy ounce. New York futures slipped 0.3% to $4,835.10 an ounce, though they are on track for a weekly gain of more than 1%. "The retreat in oil prices relieved some of the inflationary pressure that has weighed on the precious metal since the conflict began more than six weeks ago," analysts at ANZ Research said.
--Copper futures on the London Metal Exchange were up 0.2% to $13,317 a metric ton, the highest since the end of February. Middle East peace hopes and stronger Chinese trade data supported risk appetite. Beijing's refined copper imports fell, though higher imports of ore and concentrates point to resilient demand from domestic smelters despite weak processing margins, according to ANZ analysts.
Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 15, 2026 04:21 ET (08:21 GMT)
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