HONG KONG (AP) — Stocks retreated in Asia on Thursday after an initial jump that pushed Japan's Nikkei 225 index above 60,000 for the first time, while oil prices climbed above $100 a barrel as investors reacted to shaky prospects for more talks on ending the war with Iran.
U.S. futures also fell back after indexes on Wall Street rallied to records a day earlier, helped by strong corporate earnings.
Markets in Japan and South Korea briefly touched new records, driven by buying of tech shares. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.8% to 59,140.23 after climbing to 60,013.98.
South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.9% higher at 6,475.81 after briefly surpassing 6,500. The government reported a better-than-expected 1.7% annual economic growth rate for the January-March quarter, boosted by strong exports, particularly of computer chips used in the artificial intelligence boom.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1% to 25,901.38, while the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.3% to 4,093.25.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.6% to 8,793.40.
Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.4% and the Sensex in India sank 1%.
A growing sense of unease over prospects for an end to the Iran war, which is in its eighth week, is weighing on investor sentiment even after U.S. President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire. It's unclear whether and when another round of peace talks will take place.
Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday after the U.S. began imposing a sea blockade of Iranian ports last week, and Trump said the U.S. would continue its blockade of Iranian ports.
Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly a fifth of the world’s oil normally passed before the war, is still largely halted and the likelihood of its reopening dimmed after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard seized two of the three ships that were attacked.
Source: WPLG
