Two men look at an electronic quotation board displaying the Nikkei 225 stock prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on June 12, 2026.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
Global stock markets were mixed on Friday, with Asia-Pacific bourses largely closing lower, as investors assessed the durability of a U.S.-brokered peace agreement with Iran.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Thursday defended President Donald Trump’s interim agreement with Iran, saying any economic relief for Tehran would depend on the country complying with the terms of the deal.
“The United States isn’t giving up a cent of money to Iran,” Vance said. “The only way the Iranians get any of these resources … is if they comply fully” with the terms of the deal.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, likewise described the agreement as conditional, saying on Thursday that he approved the memorandum only after receiving guarantees that Iran’s rights and the “resistance front” would be safeguarded.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was around 0.1% lower shortly after 8:00 a.m. in London (3:00 a.m. E.T.), with gains in energy and healthcare stocks limiting regional losses.
In the U.K., 10-year gilt yields rose more than 5 basis points to 4.8078% after official figures showed government borrowing reached the highest level for May since 2019, with a budget deficit of £23.3 billion ($30.8 billion).
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces a looming leadership challenge from Labour Party rival Andy Burnham, who will return to the British parliament after a special election win on Thursday.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.28% to close at 71,250.06 after hitting a record high on Thursday, while the Topix lost 0.57% to end the trading day at 4,044.96.
South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.13% to close at 9,052.42, pulling back after crossing the 9,000 mark for the first time Thursday, while the small-cap Kosdaq declined 3.43%.
Shares of Samsung Electronics reversed earlier gains and fell 2.34%, while SK Hynix rose 2.94%.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.92%, ending the trading day at 8,828.7.
U.S., China, Hong Kong and Taiwan markets are closed for a holiday.
U.S. stock futures were lower, with the S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures losing 0.6% and 0.9%, respectively. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 200 points, or 0.38%.
Overnight in the U.S., stocks closed out the holiday-shortened week in positive territory. The three major indexes closed higher after the Federal Reserve indicated the possibility of a rate hike this year — a move that sparked a sell-off in equities during the previous session.
The S&P 500 added 1.08%, closing at 7,500.58, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.91% to 26,517.93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 72.15 points, or 0.14%, to end at 51,564.70.
