News
Thursday, August 06, 2026
What’s happening: Crude oil prices rose this morning as investors assessed the ongoing talks between Iran and Oman.
What happened: Investors remained cautious about the durability of peace in the Middle East, despite rising hopes of the US and Iran nearing an agreement.
Markets also digested data on crude oil stockpiles from the US, ahead of the key jobs report due to be released on Friday.
Why it matters: Iran and Oman reached a deal on a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, raising speculations of energy supply disruptions easing.
The proposed route is projected to remain open for up to four months, according to the proposal. Iran emphasised, however, that the deal does not constitute a full reopening of the key waterway.
Although US officials expressed confidence in being close to reaching an agreement with Iran, investors remained cautious about long-term peace in the region.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthis said they targeted a Saudi oil vessel in the Gulf of Aden, while threatening to strike other tankers in the Red Sea.
Data released on Wednesday showed that US crude inventories jumped by 2.479 million barrels to 407 million barrels during the week ended July 31, versus market estimates of a drawdown of 1.5 million barrels.
Gasoline stocks contracted 1.643 million barrels to 209.7 million barrels, slightly more than market estimates of a decline of 1.3 million barrels. Distillate stockpiles declined by 3.473 million barrels to 107.2 million barrels in the week, compared to market estimates of a gain of 0.2 million barrels.
Weakness in the US dollar provided further boost to oil prices as a softer greenback makes commodities cheaper for foreign currency holders. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, edged lower to 99.65 this morning.
Spot price for WTI crude oil gained around 0.6% to $74.73 per barrel this morning, after recording losses for three straight sessions. Spot price for Brent crude rose 0.5% to $79.28 per barrel.
In other commodities trading, gasoline fell 0.4% to $2.8275, while natural gas dipped 0.7% to $2.670 and heating oil declined 0.5% to $3.7762.
What to watch: Investors will keep an eye on talks between the US and Iran.
Data on the EIA’s (Energy Information Administration) natural gas stocks change (1830 UAE Time) will be released today. US natural gas stockpiles, which rose by 28 billion cubic feet in the week ended July 24, are expected to surge by 30 billion cubic feet in the latest week.
Data on US nonfarm payrolls (NFP) for July will also remain in focus as it provides some insights into the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy outlook.
Context: Shares of Walt Disney rose on Wednesday after the company released better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter.
Details: Revenues climbed 7% year-over-year to $25.25 billion but slightly missed consensus estimates of $25.40 billion. Adjusted earnings grew 28% year-over-year to $2.06 per share, topping Wall Street expectations of $1.86 per share.
Revenue from Disney’s entertainment segment rose 6% year-over-year to $11.35 billion, while direct-to-consumer streaming revenue jumped 11% to $5.53 billion, driven by growth in subscribers, higher pricing and strength in advertising revenue.
The box-office success of Toy Story 5 provided a boost to the company’s overall results, with the movie exceeding $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales, which drove merchandise sales and raised engagement on the company’s streaming service.
The sports segment reported revenue of $4.50 billion, up 4% year-over-year. Revenue from the experiences segment grew 10% to $9.97 billion.
Management reiterated their adjusted earnings growth guidance of around 12% for fiscal 2026, which excluded the impact of the 53rd week.
The company also disclosed a partnership with TikTok, which would allow creators to use Disney-themed content in their short-form videos.
How shares responded: Disney’s stock rose 3.7% to close at $101.76 on Wednesday following the release of quarterly results. The stock has lost around 9% year to date.
What to watch: Investors will keep an eye on the upcoming releases on the Disney+ streaming service, which are expected to boost the company’s overall results ahead. Investors will also monitor Disney’s deal with TikTok, which is expected to attract younger audiences to its platform.
Other Markets: European indices closed mostly higher on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100, CAC 40 and STOXX Europe 600 Index up by 0.08%, 0.03% and 0.04%, respectively, and the DAX 40 down by 0.29%.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the nation needs more interceptors as they could have saved lives after Russia’s recent attack with ballistic missiles and drones. The news sent the USD/RUB pair slightly higher in forex trading this morning.
Australia’s private house approvals climbed 0.4% to 10,631 units in June. This being a significant slowdown from the previous month’s 2.4% surge exerted pressure on the AUD/USD forex pair.
South Korea’s current account surplus expanded to $49.73 billion in June from $38.61 billion in the previous month. Current account surplus hitting a record high sent the USD/KRW pair lower in forex trading this morning.
Eurozone’s S&P Global services PMI surged to 51.7 in July from 49.4 in the previous month. The latest reading rising to the highest level in five months lent support to the EUR/USD forex pair.
UK’s S&P Global composite PMI climbed to 52.2 in July from 49.3 in the previous month. The figure coming in higher than the preliminary reading of 52.1 sent the GBP/USD pair slightly higher in forex trading this morning.