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Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Monday, June 24:
1. Oil rises as U.S. prepares more sanctions on Iran
U.S. crude extended last week’s rally as U.S.-Iran tensions remained in sharp focus. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that “significant” sanctions would be announced on Monday and said he would seek to build a “global coalition” to deal with Iran as he meets for talks with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
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Last week, President Donald Trump said last week he called off a military strike in response to Iran’s shooting down an unmanned U.S. drone. The escalation of tensions sent West Texas Intermediate oil up around 10% on the week.
U.S. crude oil futures gained 38 cents, or 0.7%, to $57.81 by 5:35 AM ET (9:35 GMT), although Brent oil was unchanged at $64.45. Data released by the CFTC on Friday showed that the balance of long speculative positions on crude rose for the first time in eight weeks last week, suggesting that the selling pressure from speculative accounts is easing. Meanwhile, the number of drilling rigs in use in the U.S. remained steady, according to data from Baker Hughes
Read more: Commodities Week Ahead: Oil Glued To Trump-Iran Face Off; Gold Watches Fed - Barani Krishnan
2. China confirms talks with Trump at G20
Beijing confirmed that President Xi Jinping would travel to Japan on June 27-29 amid expectations that he will meet meet with Trump on the sidelines of a G20 summit that will be dominated by the trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies.
Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said Monday that trade negotiations were underway and insisted that both sides should make compromises.
Although Wang provided no specific details, Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Jun indicated that negotiators were making preparations for a meeting between Xi and Trump.
3. Global stocks mixed as markets weigh U.S.-Iran tensions against trade hopes
Global stocks were mixed to start off the week as heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran were weighed against hopes that Washington and Beijing may move closer to a trade understanding at the G20 summit.
Wall Street was on track to recoup Friday’s losses with U.S. futures pointing to a higher open. Dow futures gained 51 points, or 0.2%, by 5:37 AM ET (9:37 GMT), S&P 500 futures rose 7 points, or 0.2%, while Nasdaq 100 futures traded up 24 points, or 0.3%.
Elsewhere, European stocks were slightly lower as a profit-warning from Daimler (DE:DAIGn) and yet another drop in German business morale, to its lowest level since 2014, dampened optimism.