The China Mail - Wall Street climbs as SpaceX shares launch, oil slides on Mideast deal hopes

SpaceX priced more than 555 million shares at $135 each in a filing with the US markets regulator on Thursday. That put the company in the top 10 of Wall Street's biggest firms with a valuation of just under $1.8 trillion -- ahead of Tesla, Facebook-owner Meta and Walmart.

The heavily oversubscribed SpaceX shares climbed 11 percent to $150 as they began trading later in the session.

The Nasdaq, on which SpaceX shares are listed, initially moved lower but pushed into positive territory during the morning session.

"There is so much enthusiasm for SpaceX right now that it is hard to see the shares slipping anytime soon," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading platform.

The drop in oil prices to under $90 per barrel also helped boost sentiment in equities markets.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday an agreement to end the Middle East war could be signed in days and cancelled threatened strikes.

On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the United States and Iran have "never been closer" to a deal on ending the war, as the two sides gave clashing accounts of the agreement.

Earlier the White House said Iran has agreed to dismantle its nuclear program and destroy nuclear material and to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Europe's main markets gained more than one percent, following big gains in Asia.

"Investors were in a buoyant mood as hopes of a peace deal between the US and Iran were revived, having seemingly dropped off the table earlier in the week," said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.

"Whether momentum can be sustained depends on positive noises about a resolution translating into something more solid in the coming days," he added.

The international benchmark Brent crude was down more than three percent at around $87 a barrel.

"Oil markets may be breathing a little easier, but the path back to smoother flows could take us into the latter part of the year," said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

"Even if a deal is reached, getting supply back to normal will not be as simple as flicking a switch, with mines in the Strait of Hormuz to clear, idled production fields to restart and damaged energy infrastructure to repair," he said.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei closed up almost three percent on Friday, while Seoul's chip-heavy Kospi gave back earlier gains to end the day more than four percent higher.

The Hang Seng and Shanghai also rallied.

- Key figures around 1530 GMT -

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 3.6 percent at $87.13 a barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 3.7 percent at $84.43 a barrel

New York - Dow: UP 1.0 percent at 51,368.15 points

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.8 percent at 7,452.26

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 25,987.74

London - FTSE 100: UP 1.6 percent at 10,471.72 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.8 percent at 8,350.87 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.8 percent at 24,635.30 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.8 percent at 66,020.04 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.9 percent at 24,718.10 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 4,031.51 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1584 from $1.1579 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3424 from $1.3418

Dollar/yen: UP at 160.19 yen from 159.78 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 86.31 pence from 86.29 pence

B.Chan--ThChM