Trade Secrets: Dailies 05.22.2026

US stock futures cautiously rose as the world awaited an update on US-Iran peace talks.
Stocks rebounded on Thursday after Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Iranian media signaled progress on negotiations between the US and Iran for a peace deal.
Markets started the week on a down note, with concerns of persistent inflation stoking worries about Federal Reserve rate hikes. Since reports of movement on US-Iran talks picked up on Wednesday, however, investors have had reason to believe a primary source of rising prices could be resolved soon.
On Friday, the University of Michigan’s latest readings on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations will offer fresh insight into how much price pressures are rising as the war drags on.
Earnings season also continues to wrap up, with major government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) reporting its results before the bell.
Asian stock markets extended gains on Friday and headed for weekly advances as chipmakers rebounded after upbeat earnings from Nvidia, while unresolved issues in U.S.-Iran negotiations kept investors cautious.
Wall Street had closed slightly higher overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average marking a record close.
Investors piled back into chipmakers after Nvidia’s strong outlook underscored resilient spending on AI infrastructure.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped more than 2.5% to hover near record highs, set to climb nearly 3% for the week.
Japan's broader TOPIX index rose nearly 1%.
Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group (TYO:9984) extended sharp gains on optimism over a potential OpenAI initial public offering and expectations that Arm Holdings will benefit from booming AI demand.
China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.5%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 1.3%.
South Korea’s KOSPI edged 0.2% higher, heading for a 4.5% weekly jump.
Samsung Electronics (KS:005930) shares fell about 2% on Friday as union workers began voting on a tentative pay agreement reached earlier this week that narrowly averted a potentially damaging 18-day strike involving tens of thousands of employees.
Samsung shares had jumped 9% on Thursday after the tentative agreement led to the suspension of strike action.
Still, gains across the region were capped by lingering uncertainty surrounding negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
Officials on both sides pointed to signs of progress, but disagreements remained over Iran’s uranium stockpile and proposed controls in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil shipments.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there were “some good signs” in the talks but rejected any proposal involving tolls for ships using the strait.
Oil prices rebounded after a sharp decline in the previous session as doubts resurfaced over whether the talks would ultimately produce a lasting agreement. Higher crude prices continued to fuel worries over inflation and global interest rates.
India's Nifty 50 and Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 0.4% each.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5%.
In Japan, data on Friday showed core consumer inflation slowed to a four-year low of 1.4% in April, easing from 1.8% in March and missing market forecasts, largely due to government fuel subsidies and lower education costs.
However, analysts expect inflation pressures to rebound in coming months as higher energy prices linked to Middle East tensions feed through the economy.
The inflation data did little to alter expectations that the Bank of Japan could still raise interest rates later this year, with some investors even betting on a possible June move as surging oil costs and a weak yen threaten to push prices higher again.

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