Morning Note: A Round-up of Global Financial Market News

Market News

Equities rallied and oil dropped as US diplomatic efforts fueled cautious optimism that the Middle East conflict may begin to ease, tempering concerns over prolonged disruption. President Trump stated the US had delivered a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran via Pakistani intermediaries and claimed active negotiations. Israel’s Channel 12 said the US is seeking a one-month ceasefire.

In the meantime, however, US-Israeli operations against Iran and its proxies continued at pace, with Israeli strikes reported on Tehran and Beirut’s southern suburbs, alongside bridge demolitions in southern Lebanon. Iran and Hezbollah responded with missile and drone barrages targeting central Israel. Fresh Iranian strikes hit northern Iraq and Kuwait International Airport, where a drone attack sparked fires.

Brent Crude currently trades around $98 a barrel, while gold climbed above $4,560, extending gains from the previous session.

Although US equities fell during last night’s session – S&P 500 (-0.4%); Nasdaq (-0.8%) – the futures market is currently indicating a 0.8% rise at the open this afternoon. In Asia this morning, stocks rose: Nikkei 225 (+2.9%); Hang Seng (+0.9%); Shanghai Composite (+1.3%).

The FTSE 100 is currently 0.0% higher at 10,044. Diageo is up 2% following news that its Indian subsidiary USL has announced the sale of Royal Challengers Sports for 166.6bn Indian Rupees ($1.8bn). It is unclear how much of the proceeds will flow back to Diageo – it owns a controlling 55.9% stake in USL and the sale will incur fees and capital gains tax. The expectation is the USL will pay a special dividend.

UK inflation remained steady at 3% in February, in line with market expectations, although clearly the war has fundamentally changed the narrative on UK inflation for 2026. Gilt yields fell back to 4.8% for the 10-year, while Sterling trades at $1.3410 and €1.1553.

Source: Bloomberg