By Dow Jones Newswires Staff


Global markets were mixed Friday after the U.S. holiday, with contract expiries adding some complexity to moves in oil.

U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly weaker open when trading resumes, even after President Trump's delay to a decision on U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict improved risk sentiment a touch elsewhere. Oil pared recent gains, the dollar edged lower and Treasurys were pretty much flat early in Europe.

European foreign ministers are preparing to hold talks with Iranian officials in Geneva later on Friday to press them to de-escalate the conflict.


--U.S. futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%, while Nasdaq futures edged down 0.1%.


--Stocks in Asia ended mixed as Japan's Nikkei 225 index declined 0.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.9% and China's benchmark Shanghai Composite fell 0.1%. South Korea's Kospi index ended up 1.5% for a gain of 4.4% for the week.


--In early trade in Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.5%. France's CAC 40 increased 0.6% and Germany's DAX rose 0.7% while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.3%. Most sectors were up bar oil and gas companies.


--Oil remained on edge with markets pricing in some degree of uncertainty. Benchmarks pared gains from the previous trading session, with Brent crude down more than 2% and it could be set to ease further, according to market watchers, as escalation fears ease. Brent crude was down 2.3% to $77 a barrel, while the more liquid WTI for August traded 0.4% higher at $73.83 a barrel.


--The U.S. dollar was a touch lower after the White House said Trump would make a decision on any U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict within the next two weeks. That eased immediate fears of U.S. military escalation, providing some relief to investors and reducing safe-haven flows to the dollar.

The de-inflationary effect of moderating oil prices also dented the dollar. The DXY dollar index against a basket of major currencies was recently down 0.3% to 98.658, having reached a one-week high of 99.157 Thursday.


--Bitcoin rose on the slightly improved risk sentiment and lower event risk heading into the weekend. It was recently up 0.4% to $104,709, according to LSEG data.


--In U.S. Treasurys, the two- and 10-year yields were trading barely changed at 3.934% and 4.391%, respectively, according to LSEG.


--Elsewhere, Japanese government bond yields were little changed late in Asia with the Ministry of Finance set to discuss JGB issuance. Markets are speculating that it could weigh reducing volumes of 20-, 30- and 40-year JGBs and boosting supply of two-year bonds.


--Gold futures fell on fading hopes for substantial U.S. interest rate cuts, offsetting safe-haven demand from geopolitical risk. Early in Europe they were down 1.3% at $3,364.30 a troy ounce, on track for a weekly loss.


Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-20-25 0434ET