U.S. markets ticked slightly lower and oil prices rose early Tuesday as the war in the Middle East continued a day after President Donald Trump said the United States had made progress in talks with the Islamic Republic to end the conflict.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 each fell 0.1% before the opening bell, while Nasdaq futures were unchanged.
Airstrikes battered Iran’s capital and Iranian missiles and drones targeted Israel’s
Tel Aviv and sites across the Mideast on Tuesday.
With thousands more U.S. Marines on their way to the Gulf, both sides firing intense barrages and Iran denying any negotiations are taking place, the war’s tempo remained high a day after Trump delayed his self-imposed deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran’s chokehold on that crucial waterway has snarled international shipping, sent fuel prices skyrocketing, and threatened the world economy.
On Monday, markets rebounded and oil prices fell 10% after Trump posted on social media that the U.S. and Iran held productive talks “regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East” over the last two days.
Iran denied such talks took place and Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said that “fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets” in a post on X.
“Still, while there’s clearly a long way to go until some sort of ceasefire is agreed, and peace restored, we do at least seem to have taken the first step towards those ends.” said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone.
Oil was up again early Tuesday, with benchmark U.S. crude gaining $2.20 to $90.33 a barrel. Brent crude the international standard, added $1.47 a barrel to $101.41.
In corporate news early Tuesday, Estee Lauder and Spanish cosmetics company Puig confirmed they are in merger talks. The potential deal would create a business housing brands such as MAC, Clinique, Charlotte Tilbury and Apivita. Estee Lauder said no final decision has been made yet and its shares were largely unchanged in premarket.
Global benchmarks mostly rebounded Tuesday, in a mood of cautious relief after President Donald Trump said the United States has talked with Iran about a possible end to their war.
France's CAC 40 gained 0.4% in early trading to 7,759.97, while the German DAX edged up 0.2% to 22,695.54. Britain's FTSE 100 inched up less than 0.1% to 9,899.12.
In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 1.4% to finish at 52,252.28, recovering some of the losses it suffered the previous day.
Global markets have been on a roller-coaster ride over worries about the war in Iran, which began in late February, especially nations in Asia, which are severely affected by any lack of access to the Strait of Hormuz, crucial for energy shipments from the Middle East.
Toyota Motor Corp.'s stock price gained 0.6% after it announced overnight that it was investing $1 billion in its Kentucky and Indiana auto plants. That's part of a plan to invest up to $10 billion in the U.S. over the next five years that the Japanese automaker announced in November. Japanese manufacturers have been eager to show their contribution to American jobs and economic growth.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2% to 8,379.40. South Korea's Kospi edged up 2.7% to 5,553.92. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2.8% to 25,063.71, while the Shanghai Composite added 1.8% to 3,881.28.
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Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama
