US stock markets gained on Friday. By the close in New York, the Dow had registered 51,032 points, marking a 0.7 percent increase compared to the previous trading day. Slightly earlier, the broader S&P 500 was up 0.2 percent at around 7,580 points, while the Nasdaq 100, a technology index, was calculated at roughly 30,333 points, up 0.4 percent.
Market participants continue to await developments in the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran. Following reports over recent days suggesting a potential agreement, US President Donald Trump drew red lines and wrote about an upcoming decision on his personal platform. He stated, “I will now assemble in the Situation Room to make a final decision” shortly after mentioning enriched material in Iran that the US plans to extract.
A sign of potential easing was sent by the US President in the announcement that the US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is expected to be lifted. Trump called on Iran to immediately open the Strait of Hormuz for unrestricted ship traffic without tariffs and to remove mines.
In other financial sectors, the European currency strengthened slightly. On Friday evening, one Euro cost 1.1662 US dollars, meaning a dollar was worth 0.8575 Euros.
Gold prices saw significant gains, with fine ounces reaching $4,547 in the evening (+1.1 percent). This equates to a price of 125.35 Euros per gram.
Conversely, oil prices dropped. The price for a barrel of North Sea Brent crude was 91.86 US dollars around 10 PM German time on Friday, which was 84 cents or 0.9 percent less than the closing price of the previous day.
