Global markets climb on Ukraine-Russia peace hopes

U.S. and EU stock futures rallied on Thursday, driven by hopes for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia despite fresh inflation worries that could block any Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.

Heightened trade tensions added to market uncertainty after President Donald Trump vowed to impose reciprocal tariffs on countries that charge duties on American imports. Gold prices held near record levels, trading at $2,902 per ounce, close to the all-time high of $2,942.7 reached on Tuesday.

In currency markets, the Japanese yen was the biggest casualty of rising U.S. yields, with the dollar at 154.52 yen after a 1.3% jump overnight. By contrast, the euro strengthened to $1.0392, up 0.2% on the day, buoyed by Trump’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Oil extended its overnight fall of more than 2%, with U.S. crude down 0.7% at $70.88 a barrel and Brent also off 0.7% at $74.66.

Asian shares gained ground, as EUROSTOXX 50 futures rose 1%, Nasdaq futures up 0.4%, and Japan’s Nikkei climbing 1.1%. The Hang Seng advanced 1% to reach a four-month high, while Chinese blue chips stayed flat. Treasury yields spiked to 4.66% overnight, then eased to 4.6151%. Barclays analysts still see one Fed rate cut this year but warned of scenarios where no cuts occur.

Despite the market’s upbeat tone, senior analyst Kyle Rodda at Capital.com cautioned that proposed peace terms—including Ukraine forgoing NATO membership—remain “a large ask,” given deep distrust of Russia’s commitments.