Business
Stocks slide, oil prices surge as Trump warns Iran ‘clock is ticking’
Global markets react to rising geopolitical tensions as U.S.-Iran talks stall and energy supply concerns intensify
File picture: People walk along Wall Street near the New York Stock Exchange. On Friday, U.S. markets also declined. The S&P 500 dropped 1.2% from its record high set a day earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.5%. Picture credit: REUTERS
Hong Kong: Asian stocks mostly retreated on Monday, while oil prices surged after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Tehran that “the clock is ticking” as negotiations over a permanent end to the Iran war stalled.
U.S. futures declined by more than 0.6%.
Markets in Japan and South Korea pulled back further from recent record highs. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.9% to 60,843.09, led by declines in technology stocks, after reaching an all-time intraday high above 63,000 last week.
Japanese government bond
The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond surged to 2.8%, its highest level since the late 1990s. This reflects a broader shift toward higher yields as the Bank of Japan gradually raises interest rates, coupled with rising energy costs that are fueling inflation expectations. The yield stood at around 2.55% just a week ago.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.9% to 7,558.50 after earlier losses. The index had crossed the 8,000 mark on Friday, driven by strong demand for technology shares amid the artificial intelligence boom, but later declined due to profit-taking.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 1.6% to 25,543.32, while the Shanghai Composite edged down 0.1% to 4,132.24 after China reported weaker-than-expected retail data for April.
Australia and India decline
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.4% to 8,508.40. India’s Sensex slipped 0.6%.
Oil prices climbed after Trump warned Iran in a social media post that “the clock is ticking, and they better get moving fast, or there won’t be anything left of them,” following a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Brent crude
Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 1.9% to $111.31 per barrel. It had been trading at around $70 per barrel in late February before the outbreak of the Iran war. U.S. benchmark crude gained 2.3% to $107.83 per barrel.
“Re-escalation risks are increasing,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey said in a research note. While shipping activity around the Strait of Hormuz has picked up in recent days, they warned that conditions could quickly change.
Analysts also noted that oil markets are reacting to the lack of concrete progress following last week’s high-profile summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Despite a joint statement emphasizing the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, uncertainty remains.
Fading hope
U.S. officials had hoped China would leverage its economic ties with Iran to help broker a peace agreement and reopen the strait. Trump said in a recent interview that Xi had expressed willingness to assist, though details of any potential role remain unclear.
The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury rose to around 4.63%, up from 4.47% last Thursday and significantly higher than the near-4% levels seen before the Iran war began.
On Friday, U.S. markets also declined. The S&P 500 dropped 1.2% from its record high set a day earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.5%.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 159.02 Japanese yen from 158.62 yen. The euro edged slightly higher to $1.1626 from $1.1622.