Live Markets-Europe before the bell: How high can we go?
SPY•European shares set for more gains at the open
European shares are set to post further gains at the open, even as major indexes sit at record highs as optimism about an imminent end to hostilities between the U.S. and Iran pushes Brent trading below $80 a barrel again.
Euro STOXX 50 futures are up 0.3%, after the index hit a fresh all time high on Tuesday. The broad STOXX 600 is also at a record high, as are blue chip indexes in France .FCHI, Germany .GDAXI and Italy .FTMIB, not to mention the S&P 500 .SPX.
Even Britain’s midcap FTSE 250 index, on Wednesday, hit an all time high, finally breaking its 2021 peak. .FTMC
Iran deal hopes, tech moves and earnings in focus
Axios, citing two regional sources and a U.S. official, reported the U.S. and Iran are closing in on an interim agreement to reopen the strait with the agreement of Oman, which controls part of the waterway. The report said Washington was aiming for an announcement on Wednesday.
U.S. President Trump told Fox News that the Strait of Hormuz "is going to be open very soon."
Still, with optimism this high, and Axios having put a deal today into traders' heads, there's certainly scope for it not to be met. We have been here before.
Also in mind is the tech sector, and Asian chip stocks rallied earlier on Tuesday despite a setback for AMD AMD.O, which fell 8.8% after hours as earnings beat the Street but still fell short of investors' sky-high expectations.
