World Shares Mixed on Iran Deal Signing06/18 04:48

   World shares were mixed on Thursday, with benchmarks in Japan and South 
Korea setting fresh records, after the U.S. and Iran signed their initial 
agreement ending the war.

   BANGKOK (AP) -- World shares were mixed on Thursday, with benchmarks in 
Japan and South Korea setting fresh records, after the U.S. and Iran signed 
their initial agreement ending the war.

   The rally in Asia followed a retreat Wednesday on Wall Street driven by 
speculation the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates this year to curb 
inflation.

   U.S. futures were higher early Thursday, while oil prices fell.

   Leaders from the U.S. and Iran signed the deal on a permanent end to 
hostilities that starts a 60-day negotiating clock to reach a final deal on the 
future of Iran's nuclear program. In the meantime, it calls for Tehran to 
dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

   The deal waives U.S.-backed sanctions on the country, immediately allowing 
Iran to sell its oil freely in a major concession from Washington, according to 
details released by both countries.

   The news came after U.S. markets closed with losses for the day.

   In early European trading, Germany's DAX edged 0.2% higher to 24,987.35, 
while the CAC 40 in Paris edged 0.1% lower, to 8,424.47. Britain's FTSE 100 
shed 0.8% to 10,422.40.

   The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.9%, while that for the Dow Jones 
Industrial Average gained 0.6%.

   During Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 resumed its climb, gaining 1.7% to 
a new closing high of 71,053.49. It topped 70,000 for the first time this week 
and is still gaining thanks to hopes for an end to the war and strong buying of 
high-tech shares due to the artificial intelligence boom.

   "This is very broad-based rally, I believe it's actually showing some 
confidence that the Japanese economy is going to recover further from the ... 
the end of the war, and presumably the oil prices in the near future," said 
Neil Newman, head of strategy at Astris Advisory Japan.

   South Korea likewise has been setting records, gaining 2.3% to 9,063.84. The 
Kospi has roughly tripled in the past year, helped by gains for computer 
chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Samsung's shares rose 4.6% and 
those of SK Hynix gained 6.5%.

   Taiwan's Taiex jumped 1.3%.

   In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost 2.1% to 23,792.35, while the Shanghai 
Composite index edged 0.4% lower to 4,090.48.

   Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.6% to 8,911.10.

   On Wednesday, the S&P 500 slumped 1.2% after the Fed released projections 
showing nearly half its policymakers foresee at least one increase to its main 
interest rate in 2026.

   The Dow dropped 1% and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.3%.

   Higher interest rates can tap the brakes on inflation, but they also slow 
the economy and hurt prices for investments. For much of the past year, the 
expectation has been that the Fed would be cutting rates.

   In his first news conference as head of the U.S. central bank, Kevin Warsh, 
did not give a forecast for where the federal funds rate may end 2026. He said 
he's considering a revamp of how the Fed communicates with financial markets 
and U.S. households and businesses.

   One of his first moves was to end the inclusion of hints in Fed statements 
about where interest rates may be heading in the future.

   In the stock market, SpaceX erased an early gain and fell 4.9% for its first 
loss since its ballyhooed debut on the U.S. stock market last week.

   Drops of 3.8% for Microsoft, 3.5% for Amazon and 1.3% for Nvidia were three 
of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500.

   A report said revenue at retailers across the country grew at a faster pace 
in May than economists expected.

   Oil prices were steadier Wednesday following slides earlier in the week on 
optimism about the tentative U.S.-Iran deal to get the global flow of oil going 
again. Iran is set to take steps to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, allowing oil 
tankers to deliver crude from the Persian Gulf again and hopefully relieve 
inflationary pressures.

   Early Thursday, the price for a barrel of Brent crude oil fell 1.9% to 
$78.05. It's still above its roughly $70 price from before the war, but it's 
well below its $100-plus price from a few weeks ago.

   U.S. benchmark crude slipped 2.1% to $74.43 per barrel.

   The U.S. dollar fell to 160.63 Japanese yen from 160.65 yen. The euro was 
trading at $1.1510, up from $1.1501.