White House: "Negotiations with Iran to continue"…Wall Street rises on hopes of an end to the war [Morning Briefing]

◆ White House: "Negotiations with Iran to continue…bigger blow if it refuses to accept defeat"

The White House said on the 25th local time that it would continue negotiations with Iran to end the war. It did not, however, disclose the details of the talks. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "At this time, I will not speak to the specific details of the negotiations that have taken place between the United States and Iran." Regarding local media reports that the U.S. had delivered a ceasefire proposal containing 15 items to Iran via Pakistan, a mediator, she said, "Some of it is accurate, but it also contains a lot of inaccurate information." Still, while stressing negotiations, Leavitt warned, "If Iran does not understand that it has been militarily defeated, it will take a bigger blow than ever before."

◆ Wall Street ends higher on expectations of a ceasefire in the Iran war

All three major U.S. stock indexes ended higher. Optimism spread on reports that the U.S. had proposed a one-month ceasefire to Iran. On the 25th Eastern time at the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 46,429.49, up 0.66% from the previous day. The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 rose 0.54% to 6,591.90, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.77% to finish at 21,929.825.

◆ President Lee Jae-myung to chair the second emergency economic review meeting

President Lee Jae-myung is set to chair an emergency economic review meeting on the morning of the 26th at Cheong Wa Dae and discuss with relevant ministers ways to address a Middle East-driven supply crunch. The meeting is expected to focus on measures to stabilize crude supplies, including what to set the maximum oil price at in the second public notice on the 27th. It is also expected to address procurement measures for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and naphtha, as supply concerns have grown following reports that QatarEnergy, Qatar’s state-owned energy company, declared force majeure.

◆ Highs of 23°C…nationwide fine dust "Bad"

Today, Thursday, daytime temperatures are expected to rise to around 20°C. However, dense fog will form in some areas. Fine-dust levels in most parts of the country are at the "Bad" level. Daytime temperatures are forecast at 15–23°C. Morning temperatures will hover around 0°C, mainly in the inland and mountainous areas of Gangwon Province. With daytime temperatures climbing to around 20°C in the central inland and southern regions, the day-night temperature gap is expected to be large, at 15–20°C. Until the morning, dense fog is expected mainly in Incheon, western Gyeonggi Province, the Chungcheong region, and the Jeolla region, and some areas may also see drizzle as a result. At airports, dense fog may disrupt flight operations, so air travelers should check flight information in advance.

Choi Soo-jin, Hankyung.com reporter naive@hankyung.com