Surge Across the Board Early Morning! Major News from US-Iran Negotiations, Qatar Meeting Scheduled for June 30

In the early trading session of the Asia-Pacific market on June 29, US stock index futures rose across the board, as signs of easing in US-Iran negotiations significantly alleviated market concerns over an escalation of tensions in the Middle East. As of 7:20 am Beijing time, Nasdaq 100 index futures were up 0.97%, S&P 500 index futures were up 0.63%, and Dow futures were up 0.39%.

Major asset classes simultaneously showed signs of a recovery in risk appetite: safe-haven precious metals weakened slightly, with spot gold down 0.72% and spot silver down 0.85%; international oil prices, buoyed by navigation expectations, edged higher, with WTI crude oil futures rising 1% and Brent crude oil futures up 0.8%.

According to senior US officials, both the US and Iran have reached a consensus to halt mutual attacks and plan to hold official talks in Doha, Qatar on June 30, focusing on resolving the Strait of Hormuz dispute. Other US sources familiar with the matter stated that this ceasefire is a temporary arrangement, and during subsequent technical talks, free passage of ships in the Strait of Hormuz will resume. This meeting has now been confirmed by multiple sources, but no official statements have been released by the US, Iran, or the mediators Pakistan and Qatar.

The negotiation process had previously stalled. Due to the recent escalation of conflict between the two sides, the technical talks between the US and Iran originally scheduled to restart in Switzerland this week were suspended. On the 28th, Iran stated that it did not attend the scheduled technical talks due to frequent attacks and failure to meet preconditions. On the same day, Iranian Foreign Minister Aragchi re-emphasized during a visit to Iraq that the navigation management of the Strait of Hormuz is Iran's exclusive responsibility, and any external interference would violate the US-Iran memorandum of understanding. He also stressed that the US side must push Israel to halt its attacks on Lebanon and withdraw its troops.

It is worth noting that Israel's military operations in southern Lebanon are still ongoing. On the evening of the 28th, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant jointly announced that the Israeli military had destroyed an over 200-meter-long and 25-meter-deep Hezbollah tunnel facility near Marjayoun in southern Lebanon, containing a large number of weapons and launch shafts, with the US side notified before the operation. IDF Chief of Staff Zamir stated that Israeli forces will continue clearing operations in the "security zone" of southern Lebanon and are prepared to resume offensive operations at any time.