Headlines:

• Markets continue to keep the faith awaiting more positive US-Iran developments
• After 5 months, the Nasdaq finally hits a new record high amid US-Iran deal optimism
• Netflix earnings is tonight. Are you holding?
• Senior Iranian Official: Fundamental disagreements continue over nuclear issues
• ECB policymaker Muller: A rate move at the April meeting cannot be ruled out
• ECB’s Villeroy: April hike premature, no rush to act
• All members viewed risks to inflation outlook as tilted to the upside, ECB account shows
• Swiss franc appreciation has led to tighter monetary conditions – SNB minutes
• UK February monthly GDP +0.5% vs +0.1% m/m expected
• Eurozone March final CPI +2.6% vs +2.5% y/y prelim
• Italy March final CPI +1.7% vs +1.7% y/y prelim

Markets:

• WTI crude (May) down 0.2% to $91.11, WTI crude (June) up 0.2% to $88.30, Brent crude up 0.7% to $95.80
• S&P 500 futures up 0.1%, European indices up 0.3% to 0.6% across the board
• CAD leads, NZD lags on the day
• US 10-year yields flat at 4.275%
• Gold up 0.7% to $4,822, Silver up 0.5% to $79.43
• Bitcoin down 0.1% to $74,761

It was another tepid session for the most part as markets are still waiting for more concrete positive developments from the US-Iran conflict.

Pakistan is trying to mediate the situation with its army chief arriving in Tehran to try and push for a second round of talks. The US and Iran are still not able to see eye to eye on a nuclear agreement and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. So, that is keeping things on edge even as markets are taking the more optimistic angle for now.

There’s still an air of calm for the most part with oil prices consolidating at the lower end for this week. Brent crude is up just 0.7% to $95.80 as traders remain cautious still. Meanwhile, WTI crude is keeping just above the $91 mark for the May contract whereas the June contract is seeing prices at around $88.30 for now. The latter has more open interest at this stage and is arguably the more reliable indicator of “front-month” pricing.

In the equities space, European stocks are following up on the record high closes in Wall Street with modest gains today. Meanwhile, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures are also seen up 0.1% as investors stay calm.

In FX, the dollar is keeping more mixed across the board with EUR/USD down 0.2% to 1.1780 while USD/JPY is flat near 159.00 on the day. The latter did see a decent rebound after hitting a low of 158.27 in Asia trading, following some verbal jawboning by Japan finance minister Katayama.

The changes among dollar pairs are mostly negligible though with USD/CAD down just 0.1% to 1.3727 and AUD/USD flat on the day at 0.7170 currently.

Elsewhere, precious metals are keeping slight gains with gold up 0.7% to $4,822 while silver is up 0.5% to $79.43 on the day.

It’s still all on US-Iran developments and will continue to be the case until the weekend surely.

This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.