HONG KONG (AP) — Oil prices fell more than 4% and Asian shares gained on Wednesday over possibilities of a de-escalation of the Iran war and negotiations between the United States and Iran.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was up 3% to 53,806.15. South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.6% to 5,643.09.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.7% to 25,227.73, while the Shanghai Composite index was 1.1% higher at 3,925.27. Labubu doll maker Pop Mart's Hong Kong-listed shares fell more than
15%, after it announced annual revenue for last year that was largely in line with analysts’ estimates.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.9%. Taiwan’s Taiex was up 2.5%.
Trump's claims of progress being made from talks with Iran this week and his postponement on Monday of a deadline to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz have also fueled optimism that an end to the Iran war could come soon.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is said to have offered a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran, but an Iranian military spokesperson mocked the U.S.’ attempt at a ceasefire deal Wednesday.
With the Strait of Hormuz being a key waterway for crude oil and liquefied natural gas transport, oil and gas prices have spiked and fluctuated in recent days.
Oil prices fell again on rising hopes for a de-escalation. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 4.2% to $96.07 per barrel. It was around $104 on Tuesday.
Benchmark U.S. crude was down 3.8% early Wednesday to $88.89 a barrel.
While Iran has denied negotiations were taking place, and attacks in the Middle East continued, Pakistan has offered to host talks between Washington and Tehran. And as Trump raised optimism of a de-escalation of the war, at least 1,000 more American troops from the 82nd Airborne Division are said to be deployed to the Middle East in the coming days.
U.S. futures were up more than 0.7% on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, U.S. stocks closed lower. The S&P 500 lost 0.4% to 6,556.37. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.2% to 46,124.06, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% lower to 21,761.89.
Shares of Estee Lauder sank more than 9%, following confirmation that the U.S.-listed company is in merger talks with Spanish beauty and perfume group Puig.
In other dealings early Wednesday, gold prices resumed its rise after falling earlier. It dropped in part because of rising U.S. Treasury yields over dimming expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut after the spike in oil prices threatened to fuel global inflation.
The price of gold was up 3.6% early Wednesday to $4,557.30 per ounce. It was above $5,000 earlier this month.
The U.S. dollar was at 158.98 Japanese yen, up from 158.69. The euro was trading at $1.1591, down from $1.1608.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.
