Oil Prices Drop Over 4% as Asian Markets Rise on Iran De-escalation Hopes
Markets rally as tensions seem to cool
Asian bourses enjoyed a bounce as traders picked up on signs that the Middle East might be stepping back from the brink. Japan’s Nikkei jumped about 3% to roughly 53,806, while South Korea’s Kospi gained around 1.6% to near 5,643. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ticked up about 0.7 to 25,227 and Shanghai added roughly 1.1% to about 3,925. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose roughly 1.9% and Taiwan’s Taiex climbed about 2.5%.
Not everything was sunshine and confetti: shares of collectible-toy maker Pop Mart plunged more than 15% after revenue came in roughly where the market expected, proving that even celebration dolls can spark a crash.
Oil slides, gold and markets react
Crude prices fell sharply as optimism over talks and fewer immediate threats to shipping eased a recent spike. Brent slipped about 4.2% to near $96.07 a barrel after trading around $104 recently, while the U.S. benchmark dropped roughly 3.8% to about $88.89 per barrel. The Strait of Hormuz — a major oil choke point — had been a wild card for prices; calmer shipping conditions helped push oil down.
Commodities weren’t boring: gold bounced back, rising more than 3% early in the session to roughly $4,557.30 an ounce after an initial dip. Currency moves were quiet-ish, with the dollar near 158.98 yen and the euro around $1.1591.
Diplomacy, deployments and what to watch next
Optimism was fed by comments from U.S. leaders about progress in talks with Iran and by a reported U.S. offer of a multi-point ceasefire plan — an offer that Tehran publicly dismissed. There were also gestures toward third-party mediation, with Pakistan reportedly offering to host talks, and a temporary postponement of a threatened deadline affecting Iranian facilities after the Strait of Hormuz reopened.
At the same time, military steps continued: about 1,000 additional U.S. troops from the 82nd Airborne Division were set to head to the region in the coming days. Back in the U.S., futures were trading higher by more than 0.7% following a day when the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq all finished slightly lower.