A super Thursday of earnings and hopes for Iran detente

Hello, this is Anniek Bao writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.

Investors in Europe have a full plate today, with a stacked earnings docket stretching from Tokyo to Frankfurt. Meanwhile, diplomacy is inching forward over the Strait of Hormuz, and a Federal Reserve policymaker is warming to future rate hikes.

Markets appeared to be glass-half-full. The Dow closed at a record high, oil is sliding as the war premium drains away, even as Jamie Dimon warned that margin debt across financial markets has never been higher.

In Tokyo, SoftBank Group posted a profit beat, boosted by its stakes in Intel and TikTok-owner ByteDance. The report card also offers investors a first read on how Masayoshi Son’s AI bets weathered the tech turbulence.

In Germany, the defense industry takes center stage, with German arms maker Rheinmetall lowering its sales forecast for the year, and Renk’s reporting sustained order momentum.

Rounding out the docket, Commerzbank said its net profit jumped 94% in the second quarter, beating estimates, while Siemens reported its highest-ever quarterly industrial profit and new orders growth.

Iran says the U.S. is ready to “return to commitments,” while denying negotiations were ongoing with Washington, after President Donald Trump signaled a deal was in the making.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi made the comments to state broadcaster IRNA on Wednesday, likely referring to the June 17 memorandum of understanding under which Tehran was to allow commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz free of charge for 60 days, in exchange for Washington lifting its naval blockade of Iranian ships.

Trump earlier this week accused Iran’s leaders of being “duplicitous” about peace talks, saying negotiations were underway “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.”

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose early Thursday, after the blue-chip index closed at a record high and a fifth straight winning day. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.15%, while Nasdaq 100 futures were 0.19% lower.

Oil prices slipped on Thursday as investors assessed progress in the Iran-Oman talks, with the prospect of Hormuz reopening gradually eroding the war premium that dominated in July.

Fed Governor Lisa Cook said Wednesday that inflation is still too high and she is “prepared to act” on an interest rate hike.

Cook voted with the majority to hold last week — but her patience, evidently, has a shelf life.

“Inflation is too high, and I consider the risks to the inflation side of the dual mandate higher than the risks to the employment side at this point,” she said in a speech in Anchorage, Alaska. Markets see the central bank potentially acting as soon as September, per…