The start of the new week is seeing a more risk-on tilt in markets, as traders and investors are picking up on a more optimistic tone between US and Iran since the weekend.
In particular, there was a New York Times report saying that Iran agreed to give up enriched uranium in an imminent deal to be announced by US president Trump
That has since been played down, even by US secretary of state Rubio, with Tehran also suggesting that everything that is being lined up seems to be leaning towards a framework agreement instead. As a reminder, this framework agreement is one that is mainly to call for peace and some sort of reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. It is not one that will include a nuclear deal just yet, even if there might be some hints of what avenues that can be explored.
Still, the optimism surrounding the developments is enough to get markets moving. However, I’d like to caution that all of this is happening amid very thin liquidity conditions. UK and US markets are closed today and even in Europe, it is a major holiday in Germany and France even if the Euronext and Xetra bourses may still be open.