[November 26, 2013]LONDON (AP) — World stocks rose and oil
prices fell Monday after world powers and Iran reached a deal on the
country's nuclear program and as Wall Street added to its seven
weeks of gains.
Sunday's deal was the first significant progress in years to curtail
Iran's nuclear ambitions. It will reduce the risk of conflict,
improve trade and could boost crude oil supplies to the global
economy.
Iran agreed with the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and
Germany to limit enrichment of uranium to 5 percent, far below the
level needed for nuclear weapons. In return, it got limited relief
from sanctions that have hobbled its economy, but an embargo on its
oil exports remains in place while negotiations continue for an
enduring deal.
"Perhaps the Iran nuclear deal, effectively setting limits to Iran's
nuclear program, has added to the buoyant risk mood," said Stan
Shamu, market strategist at IG in Melbourne, Australia.
Britain's FTSE 100 stock index rose 0.3 percent to close at 6,694.62
and Germany's DAX advanced 0.9 percent to 9,299.95. France's CAC-40
added 0.6 percent to 4,301.97.
Wall Street continued to be lifted by the Federal Reserve's super
easy monetary policy, signs of gradual improvement in the U.S.
economy and rising company profits.
The Standard & Poor's 500 was up almost 0.1 percent to 1,805.58,
having closed on Friday above 1,800 for the first time, capping
seven straight weeks of gains. The Dow was up 0.2 percent at
16,090.87. The Nasdaq briefly crossed the 4,000 level for the first
time since the dot-com bubble 13 years ago.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude for January delivery was
down $1.03 to $93.81 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York
Mercantile Exchange as the nuclear deal made it more likely that the
sanctions choking Iranian oil exports will eventually be lifted. The
contract fell 60 cents to close $94.84 on Friday.
Earlier, in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average jumped 1.5
percent to 15,619.13 and Seoul's Kopsi climbed 0.5 percent to
2,015.98. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3 percent to 5,352.80.
Markets in India, Singapore, Indonesia and Taiwan also rose, but
Hong Kong's Hang Seng reversed gains to close down slightly at
23,684.45.
Also going against the trend was Thailand, where the SET index fell
0.5 percent as protesters invaded the Ministry of Finance's compound
in Bangkok, escalating a campaign to topple the government after
weekend protests drew tens of thousands.
The euro fell 0.3 percent to $1.3513 while the dollar rose 0.3
percent to 101.64 yen.
