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Asian Market Index Performance
Daily percentage change across major Asian stock indices
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Stocks sink and oil rises with Iran, US no closer to peace talks - RFI
Hong Kong (AFP) – Equities fell and oil prices rose Thursday as the United States and Iran appeared no closer to holding fresh peace talks and Tehran continued to refuse to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Issued on: 23/04/2026 - 04:46Modified: 23/04/2026 - 09:34 3 min Reading time Hopes that the two would meet for a second round of negotiations in Pakistan have dissipated, with the Islamic republic targeting three container ships in the waterway and citing Washington's blockade as its reason for keeping it closed.Investors have spent most of the week upbeat that a breakthrough to end the seven-week conflict will be made soon, while healthy earnings and a resumption of the AI trade has also provided support.Crude prices jumped as much as four percent in early Asian business after global security monitors and Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Iranian forces had seized two ships and fired on a third in the Strait of Hormuz.Tehran has said vessels must seek permission to leave or enter the Gulf through the waterway, which in peacetime accounts for around a fifth of the world's oil and gas exports along with other vital commodities.However, the White House said Donald Trump did not consider the move to be a ceasefire violation because the vessels are not American or Israeli.Meanwhile, Iran's parliament speaker said the Islamic republic would not reopen the Strait as long as the US naval blockade remained, calling it a "blatant violation" of the two countries' ceasefire."A complete ceasefire only has meaning if it is not violated through a naval blockade... Reopening the Strait of Hormuz is not possible amid a blatant violation of the ceasefire," speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on X.Still, Trump's Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said he "has not set a firm deadline to receive an Iranian proposal" for talks."Ultimately, the timeline will be dictated by the commander in chief," she told journalists.Oil prices remained elevated, with Brent holding above $100 following a surge Wednesday, though they pared Thursday's initial gains.Equities fell, though, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok and Wellington all down.But Seoul rose to a new record thanks to a fresh rally in the tech sector that has been the backbone of a surge in the Kospi index this year.London, Paris and Frankfurt opened on the back foot."Whether it's conflict fatigue or confidence that the conflict between the US and Iran will be resolved soon, there is limi...
Asian Shares Slip From Record Highs as Oil Surges to $103 Amid ...
Asian shares pull back from record highs | Image: Pexels Asian shares retreated from record highs on Thursday as oil prices extended their gains on renewed shipping woes in the Gulf, underscoring fragile risk sentiment as a peace deal eludes the U.S. and Iran.European stocks are bracing for a much weaker open, with pan-region futures down 1.1%. Wall Street futures also skidded 0.5% in Asia.Overnight, the S&P 500 climbed 1% and the Nasdaq jumped 1.6% to notch fresh record-closing highs, helped by a strong start to the earnings season that has eased concerns about the health of the U.S. consumer despite rising energy prices from the Iran war.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan had earlier tracked Wall Street and rallied to a record of 831.56 points, but selling soon kicked in. It was last down 0.5%.Japan's Nikkei vaulted to a new high for a second day before falling 0.9%. Markets in Taiwan and South Korea also hit new highs and then turned lower.China's blue chips fell 0.8% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index skidded 1.1%.Higher oil prices were partly to blame, with Brent crude futures up another 1.4% on Thursday to $103.3 a barrel, having jumped 3.5% overnight to cross back above $100.Iran on Wednesday captured two container ships seeking to exit the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz, tightening its grip on the crucial waterway, as investors watch if the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East will hold."Markets look very on edge here. We are still in a no-war, no-peace zone, and that means even an unverified scare of escalation can jolt oil and knock risk assets lower," said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo."Oil’s jump, even without a single clean trigger, is the giveaway that investors remain highly sensitive to geopolitical tail risk."Overnight on Wall Street, shares of GE Vernova surged 13.75% after the power equipment maker raised its annual revenue forecast on the AI boom, and Boeing advanced over 5% after a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss.Electric automaker Tesla reported a surprise positive free cash flow in the first quarter, but its projection of sharply higher spending plans on AI and robotics drew scepticism from investors, with its shares down 2% after the bell.Treasury yields rose with oil prices. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield rose 2 basis points to 3.8106%, after inching up 1 bp on Wednesday. The 10-year yield increased 3 bps to 4.3214%, after finishing little changed overnight.Currencies were mostly calm...
Stocks end higher on ceasefire relief, oil gains as truce is tested
Wall Street stocks gained ground on Wednesday following U.S. President Donald Trump's unilaterally declared ceasefire extension in the Iran war, and oil ...
Stocks sink and oil rises with Iran, US no closer to peace talks
5 hours ago ... Asian stocks fell and oil prices rose Thursday as the United States and Iran appeared no closer to holding fresh peace talks and Tehran continued to refuse ...
