Start the day with Reuters on the stories moving U.S. and global markets. Subscribe for $1/week. Subscribe now.

Morning Bid U.S.

A Reuters Open Interest newsletter

What matters in U.S. and global markets today

By Mike Dolan, Editor-at-Large, Finance & Markets

The chip boom goes on, with Asia seeing rolling catchups to this week's tech surge as markets there return from holidays. Wednesday was South Korea’s turn, today was Japan’s.

Led by a near 20% leap in tech-focused SoftBank’s shares, the benchmark Nikkei index jumped almost 6% as Japan returned from the Golden Week holiday.

I’ll get into that and more below.

But first, check out my latest column on why a U.S.-Iran peace deal could knock the dollar further - and what could put a floor on that.

And listen to the latest episode of the Morning Bid daily podcast. Subscribe to hear Reuters journalists discuss the biggest news in markets and finance seven days a week.

Data refreshes every time you open this email. For more U.S. market news, click here. Please send any feedback to morningbid@thomsonreuters.com.

Today's Market Minute

The U.S. and Iran are edging toward a limited, temporary agreement to halt their war, sources and officials said on Thursday, with a draft framework that would stop the fighting but leave the most contentious issues unresolved pending further negotiations.
Oil supplies are set to tighten further in the coming weeks even if the U.S. and Iran agree a peace deal because it will take weeks for oil shipments to resume from the Gulf.
SpaceX has adopted corporate governance policies that will erode typical shareholder protections in unprecedented ways, giving founder Elon Musk virtually unchecked executive authority when the rocket maker goes public later this year.
While the U.S. has helped stabilize allies and markets by boosting energy exports, shrinking fuel stocks at home expose consumers to sharply higher prices, writes ROI Energy Columnist Ron Bousso.
Emerging market stocks are smashing record highs and bond spreads are the tightest in years, despite the biggest energy supply shock in history. The question is how long this can last, writes ROI Markets Columnist Jamie McGeever.

Chip frenzy goes global

The Nikkei’s rise puts year-to-date gains in Tokyo at 25%. That’s a snip of the 75% boom in Seoul this year, but it still dwarfs the S&P 500’s 8% gain and even the Nasdaq’s 11% advance, showing that the biggest scramble for chips and tech equipment is overseas.

Wall Street continued its climb to new records, however, with the S&P 500 up another 1% on Wednesday as hopes of an Iran peace deal resulted in a nearly 8% retreat in crude oil prices.

Oil prices slid further heading into Thursday, with Brent and WTI crude now trading at around $99 and $93 per barrel, respectively. Bond yields fell as oil prices ebbed.

Europe’s STOXX 600 gained 2% on Wednesday, leaving it some 2% away from pre-Iran war levels, though the index paused in early trading on Thursday.

Iran is currently reviewing the latest U.S. proposal to end the war, which would reportedly kick off 30 days of detailed negotiations to reach a full agreement. Despite the renewed peace hopes, however, military activity in the Gulf and Lebanon continued sporadically.

Back in the macroeconomic world, the build-up to Friday’s U.S. payrolls release has shown little damage to hiring so far from the two-month energy shock. ADP’s private sector jobs readout for April came in ahead of expectations.

Elsewhere, eyes are drifting to the upcoming Trump-Xi summit slated for next week, while Thursday brings local elections in the UK that promise to have a major bearing on Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s position as leader of the ruling Labour Party.

With that, onto today's column.

Trapdoor creaks for dollar if Iran war ends

Fresh optimism over a possible end to the Iran war has pushed the U.S. dollar back to pre-conflict lows. If it weren't for the U.S.-focussed