Iranian Foreign Minister to vist Islamabad for possible peace talks - report

(Sharecast News) - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is reportedly expected to arrive in Islamabad on Friday night for a possible second round of peace talks with the US. According to Bloomberg, citing officials in Pakistan familiar with the matter, a US logistics and security team is already there to prepare for the talks.

A second round of peace talks between the US and Iran in Islamabad is expected, the officials said, without saying when the negotiations would take place.

Oil prices fell following the report, and by 1325 BST, Brent crude was down 0.8% at $104.23 a barrel. Meanwhile, European stock markets were coming off their earlier lows, with Germany's DAX reversing losses to trade up.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "We have not had confirmation that the US delegation will engage in these talks, but US stock futures are also popping higher. Nasdaq futures are higher by 1.3% as the tech rally gets a boost from the declining oil price, while the S&P 500 is up 0.5%, at session highs."

Brooks said markets are now pricing in a second round of talks "but we may need additional clarity to sustain this rally".

"However, as we move into the US session, investors are anchoring themselves to this good news and seem to be happy to buy risky assets, as it suggests a deescalation of the situation ahead of the weekend."