Oil prices slipped after strong gains last week while stock markets faltered on Monday as investors awaited details of a US plan to impose massive economic pressure on Iran to end the Middle East war.
Eyes were on US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is to hold a press conference later Monday to outline new actions against Tehran, as the war drags on with no sign of a deal to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
Bessent wrote in The Financial Times that Washington was launching the “single greatest financial offensive marshalled against an adversary”, calling it an “economic D-Day”.
Both main crude contracts were around two percent lower, though the Brent benchmark was still trading above $92 a barrel after jumping more than seven percent last week.
“The US is changing tactics in its battle against Iran, and its fight to get oil flowing more freely from the region,” said Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club.
“There may be some relief that the threats have moved from military strikes to some form of super sanctions, but there is little confidence that a route to a peace deal will open up any time soon,” she added.
London edged slightly higher while Frankfurt and Paris were flat.
Asian markets were hit by a fresh wave of pressure on technology stocks, with investors awaiting an earnings report from Nvidia, a bellwether for the artificial intelligence rollout.
The recurring question for the US chip giant is whether the AI boom will continue to accelerate as the technology spreads into more areas of the broader economy.
“These results will also offer insight into demand for AI infrastructure, how Nvidia is managing Chinese competition and what the future holds” for the sector, said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.
South Korea’s tech-heavy Kospi fell more than three percent, weighed by a sharp drop in Samsung Electronics shares, and Tokyo and Shanghai also closed lower.
Hong Kong closed nearly two percent down despite fast-fashion giant Shein announcing its market debut will take place in the Chinese financial hub on September 1.
The long-awaited listing would value the retailer, known for its vast selection of products at stunningly low prices, at close to $27 billion.
Chinese tech giant Alibaba is also keeping attention on the tech sector after announcing Sunday that it planned to issue $10.2 billion in new shares in Hong Kong to fund its AI ambitions.
Traders will also be watching this week’s annual gathering of central bankers, economists and finance chiefs in Jackson Hole in the United States, hoping for greater clarity on US monetary policy.
The meeting comes after the US Treasury said it would buy back more of its own bonds to try to push down borrowing costs after the 30-year yield surged to levels last seen in 2007, just before the global financial crisis.
Government bond yields have risen in several Western countries on inflation and debt fears, with the United States reporting last week that its federal debt now topped $40 trillion.
On currency markets, the Canadian dollar tumbled 0.5 percent against the US dollar, extending declines over the past month after Ottawa vowed to retaliate against new US tariffs.
“As a smaller, more open economy, Canada has more to lose from this, but Prime Minister Mark Carney seems to have opened the door to more fiscal stimulus to support affected business,” said analysts at ING.
– Key figures at around 1015 GMT –
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.7 percent at $92.77 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.4 percent at $85.01 per barrel
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 10,832.46 points
Paris – CAC 40: FLAT at 8,481.82
Frankfurt – DAX: FLAT at 26,145.10
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 65,528.09 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.9 percent at 25,517.33 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,882.01 (close)
Dollar/yen: UP at 159.19 yen from 159.03 yen on Friday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1664 from $1.1679
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3631 from $1.3647
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.56 pence from 85.58 pence
AFP
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