Mideast Conflict Pushes Brent Back Above $94 As Stocks Give Up Gains

Oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday as fresh US strikes triggered air defences in Iran, while stocks in Asia gave up earlier gains and inched higher in Europe.

Brent crude was up more than three percent, briefly hitting northwards of $94 per barrel, as President Donald Trump said the United States was “not finished” attacking Iran.

The latest round of US attacks included targets such as “military logistics infrastructure”, according to the military, while Iranian state media reported strikes around the country, including Bushehr, which hosts a nuclear power plant.

Trump also said he would “take care of” Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels if they carried out threats to blockade Saudi Arabia’s ports, something which — if realised — could be a body blow to the global economy.

“Our view is that we’ll be… in this $80-to-$90 range, depending on the news flow,” Jay Hatfield at Infrastructure Capital Management said of the oil price.

“If we actually have a closed Red Sea, that’s a threat. We haven’t seen that yet. That could shoot us over $100,” Hatfield told Bloomberg News.

The Houthis have previously tried to cut off shipping through the Red Sea, leveraging the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a chokepoint at its southern tip which vessels must navigate when travelling to or from the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean.

Mirroring overnight gains on the Nasdaq, Asia tech stocks rose for a second straight day, with Tokyo up almost two percent before closing slightly lower. Seoul also gave up gains to end the session almost a percent higher.

London, Paris and Frankfurt eked out early gains.

“During the early phase of the (AI stock) boom, companies were rewarded simply for announcing larger investment plans,” said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.

“A higher spending guide may still support chip demand, but it also raises questions about free cash flow, funding needs and how much of the future is already embedded in valuations,” he said.

Some clues may come later Wednesday with results from Tesla and Google parent Alphabet, followed by fellow tech bellwethers Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Amazon next week.

READ ALSO: Seoul Leads Asian Stocks Higher As US Inflation Eases Rate Fears

On currency markets, the Japanese yen was under pressure again after falling below 163 against the dollar late Tuesday, its weakest since 1986, in part due to the oil price.

Comments from Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama that Japan was ready to take “appropriate and bold action at any time” did little to lift the currency.

 

Key Figures Around 0830 GMT

 

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 10,643.53

Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.6 percent at 8,409.44

Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 25,112.90

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 66,115.60 (CLOSE)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.95 percent at 24,892.66 (CLOSE)

Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,867.03 (CLOSE)

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 3.2 percent at $93.92 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 3.5 percent at $87.32

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1408 from $1.1406 on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3378 from $1.3383

Euro/pound: UP at 85.27 pence from 85.20 pence

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 163.07 yen from 163.17

AFP

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