The first round of direct talks between the United States and Iran after months of tension was held on Friday in Oman. These indirect talks were conducted with Omani mediation. The main topic of the negotiations was Iran’s nuclear program. Iran stated that it is committed to peaceful enrichment but is not willing to completely halt enrichment. Both sides have planned the next round of talks for next week. These negotiations are taking place while the United States continues to apply pressure by deploying naval forces to the region, and Iran has threatened a decisive response to any attack. Iran’s stock market reacted positively, but markets are not very optimistic about the talks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed the 50,000 point threshold for the first time and closed on Friday at 50,115 points. This 2.5 percent increase was mainly driven by optimism about the U.S. economy, lower interest rates, and the strong performance of companies such as Goldman Sachs and Caterpillar. Some analysts predict that if economic expansion continues, the index could reach 70,000 points by the end of the decade.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating the legal framework for imposing tariffs on goods from countries that trade with Iran. However, these tariffs have not yet been applied immediately or automatically. Under this order, officials from the U.S. Departments of State and Commerce must identify the countries concerned and determine the level of additional tariffs, cited for example at 25 percent. This threat could disrupt U.S. trade relations with countries such as India, Turkey, and China.

U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson expressed “cautious optimism” about the outlook for the U.S. economy and stated that strong productivity growth could help return inflation to the central bank’s 2 percent target. He predicted that the disinflationary trend would resume later this year, after the full impact of increased tariffs is reflected in prices. Jefferson also emphasized that the Federal Reserve’s current monetary policy stance is well positioned to respond to economic developments.