Two men look at an electronic quotation board displaying the Nikkei 225 stock prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on June 12, 2026.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
Global stock markets were mixed on Friday, with Asia-Pacific bourses largely closing lower, as investors assessed the durability of a U.S.-brokered peace agreement with Iran.
U.S. stock and bond markets are closed for the Juneteenth public holiday. Futures markets will continue to operate, but with limited hours, with equities trading halted at 1:00 p.m. E.T.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Thursday defended President Donald Trump’s interim agreement with Iran, saying any economic relief for Tehran would depend on the country complying with the terms of the deal.
“The United States isn’t giving up a cent of money to Iran,” Vance said. “The only way the Iranians get any of these resources … is if they comply fully” with the terms of the deal.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, likewise described the agreement as conditional, saying on Thursday that he approved the memorandum only after receiving guarantees that Iran’s rights and the “resistance front” would be safeguarded.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was choppy in Friday trade and was last seen 0.1% lower, with gains in energy and healthcare stocks limiting regional losses.
In the U.K., 10-year gilt yields rose more than 7 basis points to 4.8247% after official figures showed government borrowing reached the highest level for May since 2019, with a budget deficit of £23.3 billion ($30.8 billion).
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces a looming leadership challenge from Labour Party rival Andy Burnham, who will return to the British parliament after a special election win on Thursday.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.28% to close at 71,250.06 after hitting a record high on Thursday, while the Topix lost 0.57% to end the trading day at 4,044.96.
South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.13% to close at 9,052.42, pulling back after crossing the 9,000 mark for the first time Thursday, while the small-cap Kosdaq declined 3.43%.
Shares of Samsung Electronics reversed earlier gains and fell 2.34%, while SK Hynix rose 2.94%.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.92%, ending the trading day at 8,828.7.
U.S., China, Hong Kong and Taiwan markets are closed for a holiday.
U.S. stock futures were lower, with the S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures losing 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively, as of 5:41 a.m. ET. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.3%.
Overnight in the U.S., stocks closed out the holiday-shortened week in positive territory. The three major indexes closed higher after the Federal Reserve indicated the possibility of a rate hike this year — a move that sparked a sell-off in equities during the previous session.
The S&P 500 added 1.08%, closing at 7,500.58, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.91% to 26,517.93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 72.15 points, or 0.14%, to end at 51,564.70.
UK PM Starmer pledges to fight any leadership challenge after rival Burnham’s election triumph
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to media as he reacts to the local Council Election results at AFC Wimbledon on May 9, 2026 in London, England.
Alishia Abodunde | Getty Images News | Getty Images
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned a contest for the leadership of the ruling Labour Party would throw “the country into chaos.”
But he vowed to fight any challenge from rival Andy Burnham, whose triumph in a north-west England by-election now looks set to trigger a battle for the U.K. premiership.
Starmer told reporters in London on Friday that he would stand in any leadership election, adding: “I’m not going to walk away.”
The beleaguered Prime Minister has been under pressure following Labour Party’s disastrous showing in local elections last month.
U.K. 10-Year Gilts.
Ex-Greater Manchester Mayor Burnham, an influential figure on the British left, took nearly 55% of the vote in Thursday’s poll in the Makerfield constituency. In his victory speech, he said: “We must put the country back on the right path.”
The yield on 10-year U.K. government bonds, known as Gilts, soared more than 8 basis points to 4.8369% on Friday, as investors attempted to gauge how a Burnham government’s policies might shape the U.K.’s economic and fiscal trajectory.
—Hugh Leask
Wind power giant Vestas tops Stoxx 600 in morning trade
A Vestas wind turbine near Baekmarksbro in Jutland.
Afp | Getty Images
Vestas Wind Systems advanced to the top of the Stoxx 600 on Friday, rising 5.3% by 11:15 a.m. in London (6:15 a.m. E.T.) after JP Morgan analysts put the Danish wind turbine maker on its positive catalyst watch.
JPM analysts highlighted several positive developments that it said are not yet reflected in Vestas’ share price. These include its onshore pipeline in the U.S., which is building towards an all-time high despite political uncertainty.
Vestas Wind Systems.
Vestas last month surpassed first-quarter profit expectations, with the renewables mainstay citing improved execution of its onshore and offshore businesses.
The pan-European benchmark was last seen 0.1% higher on Friday, reversing morning losses.
—Hugh Leask
Europe’s Stoxx 600 opens lower with regional sectors and bourses mixed in early trade
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down almost 0.1% shortly after 8:00 a.m. in London (3:00 a.m. E.T.), as markets on the continent began the trading day with mixed fortunes.
Regional sectors were mostly negative, though oil and gas stocks were among those in the green, adding more than 1% in early dealmaking, while healthcare names advanced 0.45%.
Major bourses were largely positive. The Italian FTSE MIB opened 0.32% higher in Milan, while in London the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.11%. In Paris, the French CAC 40 was about 0.24% higher and Germany’s DAX gained 0.17% in Frankfurt.
The yield on 10-year U.K. Gilts rose more than 5 basis points to 4.8078% after official figures showed U.K. government borrowing reached the highest level for the month of May since 2019, with a budget deficit of £23.3 billion ($30.8 billion)
By comparison, yields on Germany’s 10-year Bunds were up more than 3 basis points at 2.9540%.
— Hugh Leask
Asia-Pacific markets close mixed as investors assess durability of U.S.-Iran peace deal
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.28% to close at 71,250.06 after hitting a record high on Thursday, while the Topix lost 0.57% to end the trading day at 4,044.96.
South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.13% to close at 9,052.42, while the small-cap Kosdaq declined 3.43%.
Shares of Samsung Electronics reversed earlier gains and fell 2.34%, while SK Hynix rose 2.94%.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.92%, ending the trading day at 8,828.7.
U.S., China, Hong Kong and Taiwan markets are closed for a holiday.
— Lee Ying Shan
Indian IT stocks slump up to 7% as Accenture cuts revenue outlook, fueling fresh concerns over sector growth
Stocks of major Indian information technology companies fell as much as 7% on Friday after global professional service giant Accenture lowered its revenue guidance, souring sentiment toward the sector.
Shares of India’s largest IT company, Tata Consultancy Services, were down over 5%. Infosys dropped more than 7% while Tech Mahindra declined over 4%. The benchmark Nifty IT Index slid more than 5%.
Accenture on Thursday cut its revenue growth guidance for the financial year ending August 2026 to between 3% and 4% from its previous forecast of 4% to 5%.
Read the full story here.
— Priyanka Salve
Oil drifts lower as Strait of Hormuz reopens, focus shifts to demand outlook
Oil was in choppy trade on Friday, as markets assess the implications of the interim U.S.-Iran deal and signs that shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz is recovering.
International benchmark Brent crude futures for August fell 0.45% to $79.49 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for July declined 0.31% to $76.36 per barrel.
Vice President JD Vance said tankers with more than 12 million barrels crossed the strait overnight.
“The Iranians, for the second night in a row, did not shoot at any ships in the Strait of Hormuz,” Vance told reporters. “So far, they are honoring their end of the commitment.”
Separately, OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais told CNBC in an exclusive interview that the organization does not expect oil demand to peak in the foreseeable future, while also rejecting forecasts from the International Energy Agency that point to an upcoming supply glut.
Read the full story here.
— Justina Lee
MSCI isn’t done with Indonesia yet: new report signals continued concerns over market transparency
MSCI warned of transparency issues with Indonesia’s market, just months after a previous caution had sent the country’s stocks tumbling.
The index provider said opaque shareholding structures and signs of coordinated trading activity have undermined the ability of international investors to accurately assess company free floats and rely on market prices. The Jakarta Composite Index erased early gains on Friday, and has lost almost 30% year-to-date.
MSCI flagged initial concerns about Indonesia in a January report, noting the country might be downgraded from emerging-market status. In its annual Global Market Accessibility Review released Thursday, MSCI downgraded Indonesia’s Information Flow assessment, citing persistent issues around ownership transparency and price formation. Turkey was cut on the same measure for similar reasons.
Read the full story here.
— Lee Ying Shan
Yen slides past 161 against the dollar, nearing 40-year low and reviving intervention bets
The Japanese yen breached the 161 level against the U.S. dollar late Thursday, creeping closer to a four-decade low and renewing speculation that Tokyo could intervene again to defend the currency.
After Japanese stock markets closed on Thursday, the yen weakened sharply, crossing the 161 level before extending the fall later in the day to as low as 161.80 per dollar, its lowest since July 2024.
A move beyond 161.96 against the greenback would leave the yen at its weakest since 1986.
The yen’s decline has prompted fresh warnings from Japanese finance officials. Finance minister Satsuki Katayama reportedly said at a recent G7 meeting that Japan was “prepared to take decisive action on speculative moves” in the foreign exchange markets.
Read the full story here.
— Lim Hui Jie
Shares of SK Hynix surge over 7% to hit a fresh record high
Shares of SK Hynix surged more than 7% to notch a new milestone on Friday after hitting a record high on Thursday.
The rally comes on the heels of an announcement on Thursday that the chipmaker has supplied samples of its 12-layer HBM4E to key customers.
Futurum Group said in a recent note that accelerating demand for AI processors is worsening a structural shortage in DRAM, a market where SK Hynix is a leading supplier of both conventional memory and high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI systems.
The research firm said the expansion of AI infrastructure is absorbing a growing share of global DRAM supply, particularly as demand for high-bandwidth memory continues to rise.
— Lee Ying Shan
Japan core inflation holds steady in May, matching expectations despite energy price concerns
Japan’s core inflation rate held steady at 1.4% in May, matching expectations and suggesting that underlying price pressures remained contained despite concerns that higher energy costs could push inflation higher.
The inflation figure — which excludes prices of fresh food — was in line with the 1.4% expected by economists polled by Reuters and unchanged from April.
Headline inflation edged up to 1.5% from 1.4% a month earlier, while the so called “core-core” inflation rate, which strips out prices of fresh food and energy, eased to 1.8% from 1.9% in April.
Read the full story here.
— Lim Hui Jie
Asia-Pacific markets open mixed as Iran deal faces scrutiny
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 opened higher, advancing 0.6% after hitting a record high on Thursday, while the Topix opened flat.
South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.8% after crossing the 9,000 mark for the first time yesterday, while the small-cap Kosdaq slid 0.39%.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.74%.
China, Hong Kong and Taiwan markets are closed for a holiday.
— Lee Ying Shan
