{"id":63366,"date":"2026-06-18T07:08:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T11:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-us-iran-peace-mou-reached-as-corporate-giants-report-mixed-earnings\/63366\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T07:08:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T11:08:16","slug":"global-markets-us-iran-peace-mou-reached-as-corporate-giants-report-mixed-earnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-us-iran-peace-mou-reached-as-corporate-giants-report-mixed-earnings\/63366\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Markets: US-Iran Peace MOU Reached as Corporate Giants Report Mixed Earnings"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>US and Iran sign a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)<\/strong> to end military operations; the US will fully lift its <strong>naval blockade within 30 days<\/strong>, while both nations commit to a <strong>60-day window<\/strong> to negotiate a final peace deal.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Accenture (<a href=\"\/stock\/ACN\">ACN<\/a>)<\/strong> shares fell in <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/movers\/premarket\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Premarket Movers\">pre-market trading<\/a> after the company <strong>missed Q3 revenue estimates<\/strong> and narrowed its full-year growth outlook to <strong>3%-4%<\/strong>, signaling cooling demand for traditional IT consulting.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Kroger (<a href=\"\/stock\/KR\">KR<\/a>)<\/strong> reported Q1 2026 <strong>adjusted EPS of $1.58<\/strong>, narrowly missing the $1.59 estimate, despite beating revenue expectations with <strong>$46.18 billion<\/strong> in sales.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pfizer (<a href=\"\/stock\/PFE\">PFE<\/a>) CFO Dave Denton<\/strong> will step down on August 15 to join the consumer goods industry; <strong>Cecile Guegan<\/strong> has been appointed interim CFO effective August 16.<\/li>\n<li><strong>JPMorgan Chase<\/strong> significantly raised its 2026 year-end targets for Japanese indices, projecting the <strong>Nikkei 225 to hit 75,000<\/strong> (up from 70,000) and the <strong>TOPIX to reach 4,400<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Geopolitical Breakthrough: US-Iran Peace Framework<\/h2>\n<p>The United States and Iran have reached a preliminary agreement to terminate military operations on all fronts. Under the terms of the newly signed <strong>Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)<\/strong>, the US has committed to beginning the removal of its <strong>naval blockade immediately<\/strong>, with a total withdrawal of the blockade expected within <strong>30 days<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The agreement establishes a <strong>60-day negotiation period<\/strong> to achieve a final, comprehensive deal. During this time, Iran has agreed to ensure the <strong>safe, toll-free passage<\/strong> of commercial vessels through the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>. While the MOU marks a significant de-escalation, officials noted the framework is extendable only by mutual consent, and a binding <strong>UN Security Council resolution<\/strong> will be required for any final settlement.<\/p>\n<h2>Corporate Earnings: Accenture and Kroger Report<\/h2>\n<p>Accenture (<a href=\"\/stock\/ACN\">ACN<\/a>) delivered a mixed third-quarter performance, posting <strong>adjusted EPS of $3.80<\/strong>, which beat the $3.72 consensus. However, quarterly <strong>revenue of $18.7 billion<\/strong> fell short of the $18.78 billion expected by analysts. The consulting giant also narrowed its fiscal 2026 revenue growth guidance to <strong>3%-4%<\/strong> in local currency, causing the stock to tumble nearly <strong>10% in pre-market trading<\/strong> and dragging down European peers.<\/p>\n<p>Kroger (<a href=\"\/stock\/KR\">KR<\/a>) reported first-quarter sales of <strong>$46.18 billion<\/strong>, surpassing the $45.54 billion forecast. Despite the revenue beat, its <strong>adjusted EPS of $1.58<\/strong> was a penny shy of Wall Street&#39;s $1.59 estimate. The grocer maintained its full-year guidance, projecting <strong>adjusted EPS between $5.10 and $5.30<\/strong> and capital expenditures of <strong>$3.8 billion to $4.0 billion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>Leadership Changes and Market Outlook<\/h2>\n<p>Pfizer (<a href=\"\/stock\/PFE\">PFE<\/a>) announced that <strong>CFO Dave Denton<\/strong> will depart the company in mid-August. Denton, who oversaw major acquisitions such as <strong>Seagen<\/strong> and <strong>Biohaven<\/strong>, is leaving for a role in the consumer goods sector. <strong>Cecile Guegan<\/strong>, a 20-year veteran of Pfizer\u2019s finance department, will serve as interim CFO while the company searches for a permanent successor.<\/p>\n<p>In the financial sector, <strong>JPMorgan<\/strong> analysts issued a bullish update on Japanese equities, citing the ongoing <strong>AI boom<\/strong> and a <strong>weakening yen<\/strong> as primary drivers. The bank raised its year-end 2026 target for the <strong>Nikkei 225 to 75,000<\/strong>, reflecting a substantial increase in optimism for Japan&#39;s structural growth potential. Meanwhile, in the currency markets, <strong>EUR\/USD one-week options<\/strong> reached their most bearish levels since early April, as traders weighed the impact of easing geopolitical tensions against upcoming <strong>Federal Reserve<\/strong> policy decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways US and Iran sign a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to end military operations; the US will fully [&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 center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5012],"tags":[34,174,187,263,5156,6455,6456,6916],"class_list":["post-63366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-pfe","tag-jpm","tag-kr","tag-acn","tag-mou","tag-nikkei","tag-topix","tag-eurusd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}