GLOBAL MARKETS-Wall Street climbs, oil slides as Middle East conflict resumes

Wall Street surged on Thursday, with major US indices rising, despite renewed conflict in the Middle East and a mixed US economic data picture.

Wall Street surged on Thursday while oil prices retreated, ‌as ​investors focused on optimism around strength in technology shares and the overall economy over worries about renewed military action in the Middle East.

All three major U.S. indices were higher in midday trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 0.31%, the S&P 500 rising 0.79% and the ‌Nasdaq Composite jumping 1.15%. The MSCI gauge of stocks across the globe was up 0.72%. Stocks rose despite renewed conflict in the Middle East, with the U.S. and Iran both announcing military strikes in the Gulf as their tenuous interim peace deal frayed. Oil prices, which jumped when U.S. strikes were announced on Wednesday, retreated on Thursday as investors awaited further clarity on the situation. U.S. crude was last down ‌2.14% at $71.94 a barrel, while Brent dipped 2.44%, sliding to $76.12 per barrel. U.S. economic data painted a mixed picture on Thursday, as the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment ‌benefits fell last week, but a separate report found home sales unexpectedly dipping as house prices hit a record high.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 215,000 for the week ended July 4, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 218,000 claims for the latest week. But the report from the National Association of Realtors found tight inventory driving up prices and complicating home sales, underlining the affordability challenges ⁠facing many potential ​homeowners in the U.S. Home sales dropped 2.4% ⁠last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million units. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast home resales would climb to a rate of 4.20 million units. In Treasury markets, benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields ticked lower to ⁠4.535% on the day, having started the month around 4.40%. Currency markets were relatively muted, with the dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, falling ​0.14% to 100.88. The pound strengthened 0.17% to $1.3409, reaching four-week highs after striking a seven-month low in late June.

TECH FOCUS Global sentiment was also buoyed by a report that ⁠China could allow domestic AI firms limited access to AI leader Nvidia's H200 chips and reports that SK Hynix's $28 billion U.S. share listing was more than seven times oversubscribed. The South Korean chipmaker intends to price its American Depositary Receipts at $149, raising ⁠about $26.5 ​billion, Reuters reported on Thursday. The offering from the South Korean chipmaker, which will finance new factories and equipment to meet surging AI chip demand, is set to be the world's second-biggest share sale after SpaceX's record-breaking $85.7 billion IPO last month. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index gained 4.6% in midday trading, looking set for a second day of gains. Wednesday's June FOMC minutes, the ⁠first under new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, had shown some growing concerns about inflation. Markets have increased the implied probability of a Fed hike this year to about 87%, according ⁠to CME FedWatch. New York Fed President John ⁠Williams said on Thursday that he did not expect a sustained rise in energy prices for the rest of the year despite renewed Middle East conflict, but declined to say what decision he would make on interest rates at a policy meeting later this month.

Gold edged up ‌1.39% to $4,132.78 an ounce as ‌oil prices eased. (Additional reporting by Stella Qiu in Sydney and Marc Jones in London; Editing by Philippa ​Fletcher, Ros Russell, Tomasz Janowski and Nia Williams)