Fannie Mae shares climbed to an intraday high, up 5.5%.

U.S. President Trump said talks with Iran are progressing very smoothly and a new round could take place this weekend; he added the Strait of Hormuz would reopen immediately once an agreement is signed. He said signing would commit Iran to never possess nuclear weapons — prohibiting both domestic development and external procurement — and that the U.S. pushed to add the ban on external purchases after two weeks of negotiation. Trump said Iran is theoretically very close to signing and that, while the U.S. could eliminate Iran militarily within two to three weeks, he prefers a written agreement to avoid large-scale casualties. He said officials are trying to separate the Hormuz issue from the Lebanon fighting and that the U.S. has held first-ever talks with Hezbollah, reaching an understanding that Hezbollah will not attack Israel and Israel will not attack Hezbollah.

Australia goods and services trade balance Apr A$1.79 bln vs est A$1.80 bln; prior -A$1.84 bln.