{"id":63344,"date":"2026-06-17T20:38:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T00:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/asia-pacific-markets-mixed-as-us-iran-peace-deal-offsets-hawkish-fed\/63344\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T20:38:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T00:38:15","slug":"asia-pacific-markets-mixed-as-us-iran-peace-deal-offsets-hawkish-fed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/asia-pacific-markets-mixed-as-us-iran-peace-deal-offsets-hawkish-fed\/63344\/","title":{"rendered":"Asia-Pacific Markets Mixed as US-Iran Peace Deal Offsets Hawkish Fed"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>U.S. equity futures recovered early losses<\/strong> as the signing of a <strong>U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)<\/strong> provided a &quot;peace dividend,&quot; countering the negative sentiment from a <strong>hawkish FOMC outcome<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Japan&#39;s Nikkei 225 (<a href=\"\/stock\/N225\">^N225<\/a>) surged 1.0%<\/strong>, briefly crossing the historic <strong>70,000-point threshold<\/strong> following strong export data and the Bank of Japan&#39;s recent rate hike.<\/li>\n<li><strong>South Korea&#39;s Finance Minister<\/strong> pledged immediate <strong>market-stabilization steps<\/strong> if needed, as the <strong>KOSPI (<a href=\"\/stock\/KS11\">^KS11<\/a>)<\/strong> rose 1.0% to hit fresh all-time highs.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">Oil prices<\/a> stabilized below $80 per barrel<\/strong> on optimism that the peace deal will lead to the full reopening of the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>, a critical global energy chokepoint.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>U.S. equity futures and Asia-Pacific markets showed resilience on Thursday, June 18, 2026, as geopolitical breakthroughs helped investors look past a restrictive Federal Reserve stance. While the <strong>FOMC<\/strong> delivered a hawkish policy update, the formalization of a <strong>U.S.-Iran MoU<\/strong> acted as a significant tailwind, facilitating a rebound in risk appetite across global exchanges.<\/p>\n<p>In the Asia-Pacific region, performance was notably mixed but leaned toward the positive. The <strong>Nikkei 225 (<a href=\"\/stock\/N225\">^N225<\/a>)<\/strong> led the gainers with a <strong>1.0% jump<\/strong>, supported by a <strong>17% year-on-year surge in Japanese exports<\/strong> for May. Similarly, South Korea\u2019s <strong>KOSPI (<a href=\"\/stock\/KS11\">^KS11<\/a>)<\/strong> added <strong>1.0%<\/strong>, reaching a new record high of <strong>8,864.24<\/strong>, driven by a rally in major tech constituents like <strong>SK Hynix (<a href=\"\/stock\/000660\">000660<\/a>)<\/strong>, which climbed <strong>5.8%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>South Korean authorities remain on high alert despite the market gains. The <strong>Finance Minister<\/strong> reiterated that the government stands ready to deploy stabilization measures to curb &quot;excessive volatility&quot; in the won and local equity markets. This follows previous emergency meetings where officials discussed the activation of a <strong>100 trillion won ($68.3 billion)<\/strong> stabilization fund to protect the economy from Middle East-related shocks.<\/p>\n<p>European markets are also signaling a cautious but positive start. <strong>DAX futures<\/strong> rose <strong>0.3%<\/strong> and <strong>Euro Stoxx 50 futures<\/strong> gained <strong>0.1%<\/strong>, while the <strong>FTSE 100 (<a href=\"\/stock\/FTSE\">^FTSE<\/a>)<\/strong> futures lagged slightly with a <strong>0.1% decline<\/strong>. Investors in Europe are particularly focused on the &quot;peace dividend&quot; as the potential resumption of energy flows through the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> could ease long-standing inflationary pressures on the continent.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>U.S.-Iran MoU<\/strong>, signed by President <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> and Vice President <strong>JD Vance<\/strong>, is set for a formal ceremony in Switzerland this Friday. The agreement includes a <strong>14-point roadmap<\/strong> for a permanent cessation of military operations and a 60-day window to negotiate the lifting of international sanctions. Markets are pricing in the &quot;completely open&quot; status of the Strait of Hormuz, which handles roughly <strong>20% of global oil supply<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways U.S. equity futures recovered early losses as the signing of a U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) provided a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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