Star Metro - Oil prices, shares steady after US-Iran talks postponed

Equities had largely rallied since the two countries last weekend announced plans to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, fuelling global relief after the war triggered energy shortages and surging inflation.

Crude futures have tumbled this week, while stock markets have benefited also from money continuing to pile into the AI sector.

Wall Street was shut Friday for a US public holiday, having bounced back after the Federal Reserve signalled that it would hike borrowing costs this year -- news which boosted the dollar before it too steadied heading into the weekend pause.

"With the (peace) deal signed, that geopolitical cloud is lifting, but markets have learned more than once that a resolution can unravel quickly," said eToro markets analyst Josh Gilbert.

"The hard work starts now, and investors will likely be cautious until we've got an air-tight deal and traffic genuinely flowing in full through the strait again."

The deal to end the Middle East war was under strain Friday, after talks in Switzerland were postponed and fighting flared between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Preparations had been made to host Iranian and US delegations at Swiss resort Burgenstock to begin negotiations on implementing the deal by President Donald Trump and Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian.

The agreement's signing was intended to end the US-Israeli campaign against Iran -- which saw five weeks of all-out war until a ceasefire was struck in April -- and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the key shipping bottleneck whose closure caused global energy prices to soar.

The agreement also kicks off a 60-day period for talks on wider issues, including Tehran's nuclear programme.

"Market euphoria that a deal had been reached has shifted to some scepticism," Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB, noted Friday.

Elsewhere, there was little movement for the British pound or London stock market after veteran UK Labour politician Andy Burnham won a crunch by-election on Friday.

Having secured a parliamentary seat, Burnham is expected to try to oust beleaguered Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

- Key figures around 1045 GMT -

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $79.71 a barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $76.03 a barrel

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 10,368.76 points

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,455.57

Frankfurt - DAX: FLAT at 25,017.78

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 71,250.06 (close)

Seoul - Kospi: DOWN 0.1 percent at 9,052.42 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: Closed for a holiday

Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday

New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 51,564.70 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1458 from $1.1460 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3229 from $1.3206

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 161.30 yen from 161.32 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.65 pence from 86.78 pence

burs-bcp/ajb/cw

L.Mitchell--SMC