Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTAmalya Dubrovsky and Karen FriarUpdated Thu, June 18, 2026 at 1:55 PM GMT+2 2 min readUS stock futures climbed on Thursday, with techs pacing gains as investors digested the signing of the interim US-Iran peace deal and the latest Federal Reserve decision on interest rates.Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) surged 1.3%, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) moved up 0.6%. Meanwhile, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) edged up 0.2%, coming off sharp closing losses for Wall Street stocks.President Trump and his Iranian counterpart on Wednesday signed the memo outlining their countries' peace agreement, a move previously expected on Friday. The deal went into effect on Thursday, potentially speeding up the timeline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic and lifting sanctions on Iranian oil. Negotiations on more protracted issues, including Tehran's nuclear program, are expected to take place over the next 60 days.Brent crude futures (BZ=F) sank as much as 3% to below $78 a barrel after the news, chipping away at most of its war-time gains. But oil prices pared losses as uncertainty persisted amid the first crossings of the strait, with Brent advancing on $79 and West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) at over $74 a barrel.Meanwhile, investors eyed the chances that rates will stay higher for longer after more Fed officials signaled a hike is on the table for later this year, after standing pat on policy in their decision on Wednesday.The central bank's hawkish tilt comes as inflation has remained elevated and the job market steady amid conflict with Iran. Markets get fresh data on the labor market later with the release of weekly jobless claims figures.Thursday will be the last day of trading for Wall Street stock markets, which will close on Friday to observe the Juneteenth holiday.LIVE 5 updates3 mins agoKaren FriarSpaceX, nuclear, and the return of the return of the 2020 thematic ETF boomThe 2020 playbook is back on Wall Street, but with a different cast, writes Yahoo Finance’s Jared Blikre in today’s Chart of the Day.He writes:Flows into thematic ETFs — funds built around big investing ideas like space, nuclear power, quantum computing, robotics, and crypto infrastructure — are surging in a way Strategas ETF Research compares to the ARK-era boom."The environment and leadership are different, but flows to Thematic ETFs are accelerating akin to 2020," Strategas ETF Research's Todd Sohn wrote in a recent note.Strategas ETF ResearchThere are a few critical differences.The last boom was led by stay-at-home stocks, profitless tech, and Cathie Wood's ARK complex. This one is being pulled toward harder-tech trades, where the story is less about apps and software and more about rockets, reactors, chips, computing power, and energy demand.SpaceX (SPCX) is the spark.Read more here.27 mins agoBOE votes to hold target interest rate steady at 3.75% in 7-2 voteThe Bank of England voted to hold its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 3.75% in a split 7-2 vote, citing potential easing in Iran war price pressures and a weakened UK labor market."The risk of material second-round effects in price and wage-setting, against which policy needs to lean, is greater the longer higher energy prices persist," the Monetary Policy Committee wrote in a statement. "But the labor market continues to loosen, and signs of a weakening economy could contain inflationary pressures."The UK central bank’s decision comes after similar rate holds from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday and the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday. The European Central Bank last week and Bank of Japan on Tuesday both issued quarter-point rate hikes, looking to curb inflation stoked by the Middle East conflict.Echoing the Federal Reserve's Kevin Warsh, the BOE's Monetary Policy Committee stated Thursday that "monetary policy cannot affect global energy prices.” It als said: "Our job is to make sure that higher inflation does not persist and have long-lasting effects on the economy."Warsh, in his first press conference as Fed chairman on Wednesday, said the central bank "cannot have a very significant effect on particular prices.” Instead, it's the Fed's job to "make sure that those changes in oil or beef or eggs or milk don't broaden in the economy,"Today at 9:37 AM UTCKaren FriarIntel stock jumps after Trump says Apple will partner it on US chipmakingShares in Intel (INTC) jumped before the bell after President Trump said Apple (AAPL) has agreed to partner with the company to design and make chips in the US.Intel stock was up 9% at last check, poised to notch a new record high if the move holds in regular trading.“I decided to help Intel because we need to design and build our Chips right here in America,” Trump said in a post to Truth Social.Reuters reports:An Apple contract gives Intel a steady demand from one of the world's largest consumer electronics companies, boosting both its reputation and a manufacturing business that has lagged TSMC in recent years.Earlier this week, Intel said a new generation of its manufacturing tech 18A has entered its initial production, as the chipmaker sees strong demand for its central processors.Last year, the Trump administration took a 10% stake in Intel and announced plans to invest roughly $10 billion in the chipmaker to build or expand U.S. factories.Read more here.Today at 5:43 AM UTCRian HowlettAsian markets continue rally spurred by US-Iran peace dealReuters reports:Shares surged Thursday in Asia, 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.In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 (^N225) kept on surging, gaining 1.9% to 71,233.35. It topped 70,000 for the first time this week and is still gaining thanks to hopes for an end to the war and buying of high-tech shares due to the artificial intelligence boom.South Korea’s Kospi (^KS11) likewise has been setting records, gaining 0.6% to 8,917.31. Taiwan's Taiex jumped 1%.In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng (^HSI) lost 1.4% to 23,968.66, while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% higher.Australia's S&P/ASX 200 (^AXJO) slipped 0.4% to 8,930.50.Read more here.Today at 3:44 AM UTCRian HowlettGold rises amid Iran war peace deal and stationary Fed ratesBloomberg reports:Gold (GC=F) rose, supported by the signing of an interim peace deal between the US and Iran, even as the Federal Reserve signaled a rate hike later in the year.Bullion advanced as much as 1.7% to $4,328 an ounce, erasing the drop in the previous session. US and Iranian officials signed the peace agreement electronically on Wednesday evening but it was unclear if the Strait of Hormuz had yet reopened.The Fed kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, saying it would deliver price stability, and removed a reference in its statement to additional rate adjustments. Traders are now fully pricing in a tightening of monetary policy by October. Higher interest rates are a headwind for precious metals, which don't pay interest.Spot gold rose 1.6% to $4,322.83 an ounce as of 9:21 a.m. Singapore time. Silver gained 2.5% to $69.61, after falling 3% in the previous session. Platinum and palladium climbed. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was down 0.2%, after gaining 0.7% in the previous session.Read more here.Terms and Privacy PolicyPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info