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NEW YORK, June 16 (Reuters) - The dollar strengthened against the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc on Monday, but weakened against most major currencies, as investors monitored the fighting between Israel and Iran for signs it could escalate into a broader regional conflict and braced for a week packed with central bank meetings.Tehran, however, has asked Gulf state leaders to press U.S. President Donald Trump to use his influence on Israel for a ceasefire in return for Iran's flexibility in nuclear talks. That has partly helped the dollar recoup losses against the yen and Swiss franc. Still, market participants mulled the prospect that Iran might seek to choke off the Strait of Hormuz - the world's most important gateway for oil shipping. This could raise broader economic risks from disruptions in the energy-rich Middle East.Meanwhile, the U.S. military moved a large number of refuelling aircraft to Europe to give Trump options as Middle East tensions rise, and the U.S. aircraft carrier Nimitz was heading to the Middle East on a pre-planned deployment.The dollar, which until recently had always been the ultimate safe haven in times of geopolitical or financial turmoil, was last up 0.38% at 144.65 yen after rising nearly 0.4% earlier on Monday. The euro rose 0.23% to $1.1576.The U.S. currency also rose against the Swiss franc at 0.8136 franc, while an index that measures the dollar against six peers declined 0.25% to 98.02."Beyond the consolidation in U.S. dollar exchange rates, the lack of volatility in risk-sensitive currencies like the Japanese yen and Swiss franc suggest that investor confidence has been unfazed by the conflict between Iran and Israel," said David Song, senior strategist, at Forex.com.U.S. crude futures fell 2.5%, following Friday's sharp rally in the wake of Israel's preemptive strike on Iran."I still think that (the) surprise of the day is that oil, not gold nor the U.S. dollar has reacted positively to the turmoil," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex. "The greenback might be losing its safe-haven status, but today is not the test."Currencies that are positively correlated to risk such as the Australian and the New Zealand dollars were 0.6% and 0.9% higher, respectively, while the oil-exposed Norwegian crown was flat, after hitting its highest since early 2023 earlier in the day.On Friday, investors had bought back into the dollar, which has lost more than 9% in value against a basket of six other currencies this year as U.S. President Donald Trump's move to reshape the global trade order heightened economic uncertainty.But analysts were less convinced that the trend could continue until there was more clarity on the tariff front."The 800-pound gorilla in the room is the U.S. tariff policy," Chandler said. "We've got the July 9 date that the so-called reciprocal tariffs are supposed to end. ... And so that sort of hangs over the market."The U.S. Federal Reserve gives its latest policy decision on Wednesday, with the Israel-Iran conflict adding complexity for policymakers. Investors remain nervous over Trump's deadline on trade deals due in about three weeks, while agreements with major trade partners, including the European Union and Japan, are yet to be signed.They will look for progress in any bilateral meetings with the U.S. on the sidelines of a Group of Seven leaders' meeting in Canada.CENTRAL BANK MEETINGSTop of the agenda this week is a host of central bank monetary policy decisions, with the spotlight on the Fed.The central bank is widely expected to leave borrowing costs steady, but investors will likely lap up its views on recent data that has broadly indicated softening economic activity even as risks to increasing price pressures stay high.The Bank of Japan is expected to deliver its interest rate decision at the end of its two-day meeting on Tuesday, with traders largely pricing in no change to policy.Expectations are that the central bank could also consider tapering its government bond holdings from the next fiscal year as the Japanese government pushes for more domestic ownership. Central banks in Britain, Switzerland, Sweden and Norway are also slated to unveil their policy decisions this week. Reporting by Laura Matthews in New York; additional reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru and Linda Pasquini in Gdansk; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Lisa Shumaker

US dollar firms versus yen, Swiss franc as Middle East tension simmers

NEW YORK, June 16 (Reuters) - Stock indexes stayed higher after last week's losses and a barrel of oil got $1 cheaper on Monday as investors took heart from reports that Iran was seeking to end hostilities with Israel, and stayed confident in their predictions for a busy week of central bank meetings.Oil prices fell after the Wall Street Journal reported Iran was seeking a truce following a surprise attack from Israel on Friday that raised fears of wider conflict, sent oil soaring, and weighed on stocks.Sources told Reuters that Iran has asked regional allies to press U.S. President Donald Trump to influence Israel to agree to a ceasefire. Geopolitics still loomed, with early cracks threatening to emerge among Group of Seven leaders, who are meeting in Canada. Officials gave conflicting statements about whether Trump would sign a draft statement calling for de-escalation of the Middle East conflict."In terms of an escalation, where the U.S. is going to get involved or where it's really going to be all-out war, where nothing is sacred anymore, I don't think that's going to happen," said Peter Cardillo, Chief Market Economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York."It's probably a short-lived situation, so I think the market is rallying on that."Following a torrid session on Friday, Brent crude futures settled at $73.23 per barrel, down $1.00 or 1.35%.The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), was 0.75% higher in afternoon trading, slightly off the morning's highs. The S&amp;P 500 (.SPX), gained 0.90% and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), rose 1.45%.U.S. Treasury yields rose after initially falling on the reports of Iran's outreach to Israel, with the 10-year notes yielding 4.452%, from 4.424% late on Friday.MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS), marched 1.09% higher after the U.S. open and stayed stronger on the day to be quoted at 0.85%.Earlier in the trading day, Europe's STOXX 600 (.STOXX), had been boosted by a rebound in travel stocks (.SXTP), and Gulf stocks also recovered.Chinese blue chips (.CSI300), gained after data showed rising retail sales and industrial output in line with expectations. SSFED MEETING IN FOCUS, MORE DATA TO COMEA prolonged rise in oil prices could contribute to inflation, but the movements of recent days are unlikely to strongly influence discussions when the Federal Reserve meets on Wednesday, said Emily Roland, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife John Hancock Investments."The Fed is data-dependent, and it takes time for the impact of oil prices (higher or lower) to feed into the inflation numbers," Roland said."In our view, the Fed likely keeps the markets waiting with no change to the view of between 2-3 rate cuts of 0.25% by the end of the year. The bond market is still pricing in two cuts over the year, we will see if this week changes things."U.S. retail sales data is due on Tuesday and may show a pullback in autos, dragging the headline number down even as core sales edge higher. A market holiday on Thursday means weekly jobless claims figures are out on Wednesday.Central banks in Norway and Sweden also meet this week, with the latter expected to trim rates.The Swiss National Bank meets on Thursday and is considered certain to cut by at least a quarter point to take rates to zero, with some chance it may go negative given the strength of the Swiss franc.The Bank of Japan holds a policy meeting on Tuesday and is widely expected to hold rates at 0.5%, while leaving open the possibility of tightening later in the year.There is also speculation it could consider slowing the rundown of its government bond holdings from next fiscal year.The calmer mood across markets saw some of gold's safe-haven bid reverse and it was down 1.24% to $3,389.71 an ounce. .Reporting by Isla Binnie in New York and Alun John in London, additional reporting by Davide Barbuscia and Wayne Cole; Editing by Alex Richardson, Toby Chopra and Sandra Maler

Global markets recover on Iran ceasefire reports, central banks in focus

Gold price is more likely to break above $4,000 than below $3,000 this year - State Street’s Aakash Doshi

Gold miners operating in Ghana and Ivory Coast are refusing to comply with tax increases imposed this year, saying the new regulations flout their existing licence agreements, industry sources told Reuters.Countries across West Africa have been taking advantage of soaring gold prices to increase mining taxes and raise additional revenue to plug gaping budget deficits and ease high debt levels.Mining companies in the region have mostly complied apart from in Ghana and Ivory Coast, Africa’s top and seventh biggest gold producers respectively, where companies say terms agreed when licenses were granted should be honoured by both parties to protect and spur investment, the six industry sources said.Mining companies have agreed between themselves not to pay the extra taxes while they negotiate with the Ivory Coast and Ghana governments to repeal the hikes, according to the sources.Producers in the two countries include Gold Fields, Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti, Barrick, Endeavour, Allied Gold and Perseus. They all declined to comment or did not respond to Reuters‘ requests for comment.In January, Ivory Coast introduced a flat royalty tax of 8% of annual revenue, according to a document seen by Reuters, up from 3%-6% previously, depending on the miner’s contract.Ghana, which has defaulted on its debt and is undergoing a debt restructuring, raised a tax on gold miners’ annual gross output to 3% in March, from 1%, after appealing to the companies to help it plug revenue gaps, said a source in the country’s finance ministry.“If people have invested for the long term and you change the rules midway, it can affect the project. New rules can apply to new projects,” said an executive at a major international mining company operating in Ivory Coast, who asked not to be named.The mines and finance ministries in Ghana and Ivory Coast did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.Elsewhere in the region, military-ruled Burkina Faso introduced a sliding scale royalty regime in February, linking royalties to gold prices, which miners have largely complied with, two other sources familiar with the matter said.Miners in Mali, Niger and Guinea have also been mostly complying with aggressive regulations introduced by new mining codes.Ongoing negotiations Gold prices have surged nearly 30% this year, driving up profits for gold miners in the first quarter, but sudden regulatory changes are a frequent obstacle to doing business in Africa.Barrick has been in a two-year standoff with Mali’s military-ruled government over new mining legislation aimed at boosting state revenue, a dispute that has seen the Canadian miner’s Loulo-Gounkoto complex shut, executives detained and its share price plunge.Barrick, which also has operations in Ivory Coast, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.Miners in Ivory Coast are currently holding talks with the mines and finance ministries to break the impasse over the new taxes, a mining executive said.In Ghana, the companies under the Ghana Chamber of Mines have asked the government to reconsider its measures.If talks fail, companies could face financial penalties for delayed tax payments if the governments insist on the tax increases. One mining company in Ghana, which did not want to be named, said the tax authority has the right to shut a company’s operations and impose penalties. The companies could also choose to sue if they can prove their contracts should be immune to tax hikes.Denis Gyeyri, Africa senior program officer at the nonprofit Natural Resources Governance Institute, said governments are too quick to raise taxes when prices spike but don’t lower them when prices fall. “Royalty rates should be progressive – compensating mines at low prices and maximizing government revenue at high prices,” Gyeyri said.Countries should also keep their tax rates competitive, he said, pointing out that royalty rates for miners in Western Australia, for example, vary between 2.5% and 7.5% depending on the extent of processing.(By Maxwell Akalaare Adombila, Loucoumane Coulibaly and Emmanuel Bruce; Editing by Veronica Brown and Susan Fenton)

Gold mining companies in Ghana, Ivory Coast resist tax hikes

June 16 (Reuters) - Justin Sun's crypto platform, Tron, has reached a deal with Nasdaq-listed company SRM Entertainment (SRM.O), opens new tab under which it will buy tokens, be renamed Tron Inc and have Sun join the company as an adviser, SRM said on Monday.SRM's statement did not name the private investor whose $100 million equity investment - valued at $210 million if warrants are exercised - would be used to purchase Tron's cryptocurrency. The Financial Times reported that the funds would be injected by Tron itself and that Tron was set to go public in the U.S. via a reverse merger with SRM. Spokespersons for Tron and SRM did not respond to requests for comment on whether the $100 million in funds were going to come from Tron itself.SRM's statement did not say how Tron would be run in the future or whether the ownership would change as a result of the deal. The SRM deal was organized by New York-based boutique investment bank Dominari Securities, the statement said. Two of U.S. President Donald Trump's sons, Don Jr and Eric, joined the board of Dominari Holdings, which owns Dominari Securities, in February, the company said at the time.Dominari Securities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Chinese-born Sun, the founder of the Tron blockchain network, was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2023. The billionaire has close ties to Trump's World Liberty Financial crypto venture. This year he increased his investment in the project to $75 million. Sun's Tron network has also listed USD1, a stablecoin issued by World Liberty.Those purchases, involving an entity where Trump benefits financially, have raised concerns among political opponents and ethics experts about potential conflicts of interest. The president has said he put his business interests in a trust managed by his children to avoid conflicts of interest.A civil fraud lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against Sun has been put on hold.SRM also designs and sells custom merchandise such as toys and souvenirs. Its shares jumped more than 300% on Monday, reaching as high as $6.70, compared with Friday's close of $1.45.Reporting by Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru and Elizabeth Howcroft in Paris; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Matthew Lewis

Crypto platform Tron strikes deal with Nasdaq-listed company

NEW YORK, June 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks climbed on Monday, as oil prices retreated after the Israel-Iran attacks left crude production and exports unaffected, easing investor concerns about the potential for higher energy prices to stoke inflation.Crude prices , were down nearly 2% on hopes a truce was on the horizon between Israel and Iran after days of missile strikes, as Iran called on U.S. President Donald Trump to force a ceasefire in the four-day-old aerial war, while Israel's prime minister said his country was on the "path to victory."Oil prices had surged more than 7% on Friday after Israel began bombing Iran.Tehran has asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to press Trump to use his influence with Israel to agree to an immediate ceasefire, in return for Iran's flexibility in nuclear negotiations, sources told Reuters."Well, it's certainly breathing a sigh of relief because if the rumor is true that Iran is waving the white flag, they realized that they got beaten up," said Ken Polcari, chief market strategist at SlateStone Wealth in Jupiter, Florida."It could absolutely change in the next hour, which is why the market's a little bit cautious - yes it's up, yes it's kind of celebrating, but anything certainly could change in the next hour."The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), rose 332.62 points, or 0.79%, to 42,530.41, the S&amp;P 500 (.SPX), gained 55.16 points, or 0.92%, to 6,032.13 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), gained 286.81 points, or 1.48%, to 19,693.63.Investors are also awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision on Wednesday, when policymakers are widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged.Money markets are largely not expecting the Fed to cut rates until September, pricing in a 61.1% chance for a cut of at least 25 basis points, according to LSEG data.Economic data expected this week includes monthly retail sales, import prices and weekly jobless claims.Tech (.SPLRCT), led S&amp;P sector gains while utilities were the worst performer.The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index (.SOX), jumped about 3%, led by a surge of more than 9% in Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), after Piper Sandler raised its price target on the chipmaker.UPS (UPS.N), and FedEx (FDX.N), edged up about 1% after the Trump Organization launched a self-branded mobile network, dubbed Trump Mobile, and named the companies as shipping partners.Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT.O), plummeted more than 40% after the company disclosed a second case of a patient dying due to acute liver failure after receiving its gene therapy for a rare form of muscular dystrophy.U.S. Steel (X.N), rose 5.1% after Trump approved Nippon Steel's (5401.T), $14.9 billion bid for the company.Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.29-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.2-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.The S&amp;P 500 posted 16 new 52-week highs and five new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 74 new highs and 96 new lows.Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak in New York, Additional reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Matthew Lewis

Equities rise as oil prices ease on truce hopes

Giyani Metals said on Monday it had received a letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) for a loan of up to $225 million to help build its manganese project in Botswana.If approved, the loan will support the construction of Giyani’s K.Hill project, which will produce battery-grade manganese used in electric vehicles, the company said.The funding is part of the US effort to reduce its reliance on critical minerals from China.(By Sumit Saha; Editing by Shreya Biswas)

Giyani Metals receives loan interest from US EXIM for Botswana manganese project

Ghana is losing billions of dollars in revenue annually to smuggling from its booming artisanal gold mining sector with much of the gold flowing to the United Arab Emirates, according to a report by nonprofit Swissaid.The report found a staggering 229 metric ton trade gap, equivalent to $11.4 billion, between Ghana’s gold exports and corresponding imports over just five years, with most of the smuggled gold ending up in Dubai.“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation, who analyses insurgency and artisanal mining operations in the region.“Hand-carried gold does not have to be declared in Dubai … informal gold is mostly brought in on flights,” highlighting other opaque ways Africa’s gold is smuggled into the UAE.The Swissaid report said Ghana’s gold is largely smuggled to Togo before ending up in Dubai while some bullion passes through Burkina Faso into Mali, using porous borders.A senior official at Ghana’s regulatory Minerals Commission described Swissaid’s findings as “a notorious fact”.Ghana’s finance ministry did not respond to a request for comment.The report noted how a 3% withholding tax on artisanal gold exports imposed by Africa’s top gold producer in 2019 backfired dramatically, as declared exports collapsed while smuggling surged.The government’s reduction of the tax to 1.5% in 2022 partially reversed the trend, with formal exports rebounding.In March, Ghana’s finance minister scrapped the tax, subsequently praising policy reforms for a surge in artisanal exports this year.An estimated 34 tons of the country’s 2023 gold output were undeclared – approximately the same amount recorded as the country’s total artisanal production for that year, according to the Swissaid report released on June 11.Slow reformsGhana earned $11.6 billion in revenue from gold exports last year and has stepped up reforms to centralize and clean up the trade.Its experience mirrors a continent-wide pattern where Africa’s gold-producing nations consistently report lower exports than what importing countries, particularly the UAE, declare as receipts. Reforms by Dubai to curb gold smuggling have yielded limited results.Informal mining provides livelihoods for over 10 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a May UN report, but increasingly it serves as a funding channel for organized crime and armed conflict.“While the new government has shown some willingness to fix some governance issues that have bedeviled the gold sector for years, and which were largely ignored by the previous administration, its pace has been quite slow,” said Bright Simons of Accra-based think tank Imani Center for Policy and Education.(By Maxwell Akalaare Adombila and Emmanuel Bruce; Editing by Jessica Donati and Jason Neely)

Ghana lost $11 billion to gold smuggling, links to UAE, report finds

Botswana’s Debswana Diamond Company is looking to international capital markets to help fund its $6 billion Jwaneng underground project, a director said on Monday, as dwindling revenues have limited its ability to finance capital projects.Despite the downturn in the global diamond market since the second half of 2023, the company is pressing ahead with its plan to prolong the lifespan of its flagship Jwaneng mine to 2054 by converting it into an underground operation, managing director Andrew Motsomi said at a mining conference in the capital Gaborone.Debswana cut production by 27% in 2024. The company announced plans last week to further reduce output by 16% to 15 million carats in 2025.Debswana, a 50-50 joint venture between Botswana’s government and global giant De Beers, has previously financed its capital projects mostly from internally generated funds or injection from shareholders.The company is now working on acquiring an international credit rating to enable it to access capital markets, Motsomi said. He did not say how much funding it was seeking.“With revenues declining, the company is facing escalating capital requirements. Debswana expects an increase in capital expenditure from an average of 5 billion pula ($373 million) per annum for the past five years to 8 billion pula per annum over the next five-year period,” he said.With open pit operations expected to reach their economic limit around 2034, Debswana started the Jwaneng mine underground project in May last year.Also speaking at the conference, Botswana’s Minister of Minerals and Energy Bogolo Joy Kenewendo said she was hopeful for a recovery in diamond sales starting in 2026, supported by key structural shifts and long-term strategic investments.“Since January, we have begun to see positive signs in the market. While we are not yet where we want to be, the upward trend is encouraging and gives us hope for a more robust recovery in the latter half of the year,” she said.($1 = 13.4048 pulas)(By Brian Benza; Editing by Nellie Peyton and Alison Williams)

Debswana to approach capital markets to fund Jwaneng underground project

Canada’s Hudbay Minerals said on Monday it has resumed operations at its Snow Lake mining site in Manitoba following the lifting of evacuation orders in the region.Manitoba declared a state of emergency late last month and urged thousands of people in northern and eastern parts of the province to evacuate, as wildfires spread in Central and Western Canada.The company in early June had temporarily suspended operations in Snow Lake that was close to the wildfires.Hudbay added that it resumed mining activities at the Lalor mine over the weekend, focusing on initially prioritizing the gold zones.Hudbay expects to ramp up gold milling at its New Britannia facility this week, and base metal milling at the Stall concentrator next week, as some workers remain displaced by nearby evacuations.Separately, SSR Mining Inc said operations at its Seabee gold mine in Saskatchewan resumed on Friday. The site had been shut for about two weeks due to power outages caused by the forest fires.(By Katha Kalia; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

Hudbay resumes operations in Snow Lake after evacuation orders lifted

June 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes rose on Monday as oil prices fell after the Israel-Iran attacks left crude production and exports unaffected, allaying investor concerns ahead of a central bank policy meeting.Crude prices , retreated more than 3% on reports that Iran is seeking an end to hostilities with Israel, raising the possibility of a truce and easing fears of a disruption to crude supplies from the region. Oil prices surged more than 7% on Friday after Israel began bombing Iran.Tehran has asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to press U.S. President Donald Trump to use his influence with Israel to agree to an immediate ceasefire, in return for Iran's flexibility in nuclear negotiations, sources told Reuters.This follows a Wall Street Journal report earlier in the day that Iran was urgently signaling that it sought an end to hostilities."The market has already priced in some of the worst fears in terms of the energy markets getting disrupted, or this kind of spreading to be a wider conflict. So now, people are just buying the dip," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management.Focus will shift to the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision on Wednesday, when policymakers are widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged.Money markets showed traders pricing in about 48 basis points of rate cuts by the end of 2025, with a 56% chance of a 25-bps reduction in September, according to CME Group's Fedwatch tool.Key data expected this week includes monthly retail sales, import prices and weekly jobless claims.At 11:46 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), rose 409.76 points, or 0.97%, to 42,607.55, the S&amp;P 500 (.SPX), gained 66.23 points, or 1.11%, to 6,043.19, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), gained 300.92 points, or 1.55%, to 19,707.75.Nine of the 11 major S&amp;P 500 sub-sectors rose, with information technology (.SPLRCT), and financials adding 1.7% each. Energy (.SPNY), was down 0.7%.The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index (.SOX), advanced 3.1%.Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), rose 9.5%, Super Micro Computer (SMCI.O), gained 5.8% and Palantir Technologies (PLTR.O), was up 3.8%.Most megacap and growth stocks rose. Meta (META.O), advanced 2.9% on plans to roll out new WhatsApp updates over the next few months and Nvidia (NVDA.O), was up 2.7%.UPS (UPS.N), and FedEx (FDX.N), edged up about 1% after the Trump Organization launched a self-branded mobile network, dubbed Trump Mobile, and named the companies as shipping partners.Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT.O), plunged 45% after the company disclosed a second case of a patient dying due to acute liver failure after receiving its gene therapy for a rare form of muscular dystrophy.U.S. Steel (X.N), rose 5.1% after Trump approved Nippon Steel's (5401.T), $14.9 billion bid for the company.Cisco (CSCO.O), gained 2.3% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the communications equipment maker to "buy" from "hold".Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.24-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.53-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.The S&amp;P 500 posted 16 new 52-week highs and five new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 66 new highs and 86 new lows.Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai

Wall St climbs as oil prices ease, Fed meeting in focus

NEW YORK/LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes climbed and oil fell from last week's highs on Monday after conflict between Israel and Iran left crude production and exports unaffected, while investors stayed braced for a week packed with central bank meetings.Geopolitics loomed large as Group of Seven leaders began annual talks in Canada. Iranian strikes on Israel and a promise of retaliation were followed by a Wall Street Journal report that Tehran was seeking an end to hostilities, against a backdrop of existing international strains prompted in part by Donald Trump's tariff policy.Markets took comfort after a torrid session on Friday saw oil surge 7% and Wall Street indexes lose more than 1%.At 10:48 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), was 1.17% higher, the S&amp;P 500 (.SPX), gained 1.16% and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), was also up 1.51%.U.S. crude fell 3.44% to $70.47 a barrel and Brent fell to $71.63 per barrel, down 3.5% on the day."Markets came to the conclusion that for now, the Israeli/Iranian conflict is localized," Andy Brenner, Head of International Fixed Income at National Alliance Securities, said in a note to clients.Any sustained inflationary impact from the oil price outlook could make the Federal Reserve more nervous about giving too many hints at its Wednesday meeting about interest rate cuts later in the year.Investors still expect two cuts by December, with a first move in September seen as most likely."The key is how much flexibility the Fed thinks it has. We've been pleasantly surprised we've not yet seen inflationary pass-through from the tariffs," said Ben Laidler, head of equity strategy at Bradesco BBI.U.S. Treasury yields fell after the report of Iran's outreach to Israel, with the 10-year notes yielding 0.9 basis points to 4.415%, from 4.424% late on Friday.MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS), marched 1.09% higher after the U.S. open.Earlier in the trading day, Europe's STOXX 600 (.STOXX), had been boosted by a rebound in travel stocks (.SXTP), and Gulf stocks also recovered.Chinese blue chips (.CSI300), gained after data showed rising retail sales and industrial output in line with expectations. SSMORE DATA, MEETINGS COMINGU.S. retail sales data is due on Tuesday and may show a pullback in autos dragging the headline number down even as core sales edge higher. A market holiday on Thursday means weekly jobless claims figures are out on Wednesday.Central banks in Norway and Sweden also meet this week, with the latter expected to trim rates.The Swiss National Bank meets on Thursday and is considered certain to cut by at least a quarter point to take rates to zero, with some chance it may go negative given the strength of the Swiss franc.The Bank of Japan holds a policy meeting on Tuesday and is widely expected to hold rates at 0.5%, while leaving open the possibility of tightening later in the year.There is also speculation it could consider slowing the rundown of its government bond holdings from next fiscal year.German government bond yields fell on Monday, with the benchmark 10-year Bunds yielding 2.52%, from 2.536% late on Friday.The calmer mood across markets saw some of gold's safe-haven bid reverse and it was down 1.04% to $3,396.59 an ounce. .Reporting by Isla Binnie in New York and Alun John in London, additional reporting by Davide Barbuscia and Wayne Cole; Editing by Alex Richardson and Toby Chopra

Stocks rise, oil falls as Middle East fears ease, central banks in focus

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