Wall Street’s stagflation fears are easing thanks to the mere hint of a U.S. deal with Iran

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S&P 500 futures are up 0.05%.

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 is up 0.57% in early trading, and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 is 0.18% before lunch.

Asia: South Korea’s KOSPI is back to form, up 3.55%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is up 2.53%. India’s Nifty 50 is down 1.5%. China’s CSI 300 is down 0.45%. 

Brent crude is at $91 a barrel this morning.

Bitcoin is at $73,601.  

Markets ready to bet on good news

Positive noises from the White House about Iran negotiations have analysts hoping to side-step many of the stagflationary surprises they had been fearing.

With tensions in the Middle East dragging on and oil prices rising higher as a result, economists had feared that inflation, paired with slowing growth, would lead to a stagnating economy with rising prices. But suggestions that a deal may be possible were enough to boost markets’ mood this morning, as Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid noted: “The positivity saw the S&P 500 ( 0.58%) hit another record yesterday, advancing for a 6th consecutive session, with futures up another 0.05% this morning …

"So even before the formal confirmation of any deal, there’s already been a strong reaction in markets.”

White-collar work was never meant to stick around indefinitely, ADP’s chief economist Nela Richardson recently told Fortune’s Nick Lichtenberg. While many are concerned that AI will mean the end of the office jobs they recognize today, significant labor market shifts were inevitable. 

“No one ever promised a 50-year cycle for white-collar work,” Richardson........

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