Global Stock Markets Near Record Highs Amid Geopolitical Tensions: What Investors Need to Know for Strategic Business Decisions
LONDON: Global stock markets remained close to record highs on Friday as international tensions eased slightly and the US dollar stayed near a six-week peak, with traders reducing expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
Safe-haven gold prices were mostly unchanged, while oil prices recovered after earlier losses. The rebound followed a shift in stance by US President Donald Trump, who adopted a wait-and-see approach toward Iran after previously threatening military intervention. Since the start of the year, international politics has dominated market sentiment, with heightened concerns stemming from Trump’s actions in Venezuela, his proposal to acquire Greenland, and ongoing Middle East tensions.
Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone, commented, “Although it appears that we’ve dialled down the probability of US intervention in the Middle East for the time being, I don’t think we can entirely rule that out.”
Brown also noted the lack of strong market conviction ahead of the US Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Monday. “I wouldn’t be entirely confident if I was running a book to be long-risk or short-crude into a three-day weekend with this amount of Middle East tension going on,” he said.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.1 percent after reaching a record high on Thursday. The index was poised to close the week with a fifth consecutive weekly gain, extending the positive momentum carried over from late 2025.
— رویترز
تحلیل ویژه از عمانت | بازار عمان را کشف کنید
Despite global geopolitical tensions, particularly in the Middle East, markets remain resilient with stocks near record highs and oil prices stabilizing. For businesses in Oman, this signals both opportunities in energy exports and risks linked to regional instabilityسرمایهگذاران هوشمند باید تحولات ژئوپلیتیک را از نزدیک زیر نظر داشته باشید while positioning to leverage Oman’s strategic role in energy and trade.
