Asia-Pacific markets set to open mixed as Trump signals no rush on Iran agreement

Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mixed on Monday as investors monitored lingering uncertainty around U.S.-Iran negotiations after President Donald Trump said he was in “no hurry” to strike a deal to end the conflict, now in its fourth month.

The U.S. and Iran have still not finalized an agreement to end the conflict, Trump said in an interview with his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, on Fox News Saturday. He added that he is pressing for a deal that would ensure Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon. 

While he said he would prefer a swift resolution, he stressed that he was not rushing negotiations and warned that military action could resume if talks collapse.

“I’d like to say I’m in a hurry because gasoline prices are going to come tumbling down, but if you’re going to be in a hurry, you’re not going to make a good deal,” Trump said. “And slowly but surely we’re getting, I think, what we want, and if we don’t get what we want we’re going to end it a different way.”

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was poised to rise, with the Chicago futures contract at 66,405 compared with the index’s previous close of 66,329.5. In Australia, futures last traded slightly higher at 8,737, compared with the S&P/ASX 200‘s last close of 8,731.7.

However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 25,098, lower than the index’s last close of 25,182.39.

Last Friday on Wall Street, U.S. equities closed at record highs while crude prices slipped, helping the major averages score a winning month, boosted by technology.

The Nasdaq Composite settled up 0.2% at 26,972.62, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.22% to 7,580.06. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 363.49 points, or 0.72%, at 51,032.46. All three indexes hit fresh all-time intraday highs earlier as well.

— CNBC’s Sarah Min and Lisa Kailah Han contributed to this report