S&P 500 — US Large Cap Index
FTSE 100 — UK Blue Chips
Euro Stoxx 50 — Eurozone Leaders
DAX 40 — German Equities
CAC 40 — French Market Index
Nikkei 225 — Japan Benchmark
Hang Seng — Hong Kong Index
Shanghai Composite — China Mainland
ASX 200 — Australian Market
TSX Composite — Canada Index
Nifty 50 — India Large Cap
STI Index — Singapore Market
KOSPI — South Korea Index
Bovespa — Brazil Equities
JSE Top 40 — South Africa Index
IPC Index — Mexico Market
- USD/CHF struggles as the US Dollar weakens on easing safe-haven demand, with traders monitoring progress in US–Iran talks.
- Trump signaled Tehran’s latest peace proposal may fall short, expressing doubts over its acceptability.
- Donald Trump said the US will escort neutral ships through the Strait of Hormuz starting on Monday.
USD/CHF depreciates after registering slight gains the previous day, trading around 0.7810 during Asian hours on Monday. The pair struggles as the US Dollar (USD) declines amid easing safe-haven demand, with traders assessing progress in US–Iran peace negotiations. Swiss SVME Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) will be eyed later in the day.
Data released on Friday showed that Switzerland’s real retail sales rose by 0.5% YoY in March, falling short of market expectations for a 1% increase, after a downwardly revised 0.4% gain in the prior month. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, sales posted a modest 0.1% rise, following a revised 0.1% decline recorded in February.
Mediation efforts to end the conflict have continued as the war in Iran enters its third month. Donald Trump hinted that Tehran’s latest peace proposal may fall short of expectations, Bloomberg reported Sunday. Iran has proposed setting a one-month deadline for talks aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending both the US naval blockade and the conflicts in Iran and Lebanon.
Another Bloomberg report indicated on Sunday that Donald Trump said the United States will begin guiding neutral ships trapped in the Persian Gulf out through the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday. The initiative is intended to help civilian vessels from non-aligned countries exit the contested waterway and resume normal operations.
However, an Iranian official warned that US interference in Hormuz will be considered a violation of the ceasefire, adding that the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf are not a place for rhetoric. Traders will closely monitor the developments surrounding the Middle East conflict and a continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Traders are likely awaiting the upcoming US employment report for April later this week. The US economy is expected to see 73K job additions in April, while the Unemployment Rate is projected to remain steady at 4.3% during the same period.
