Trump says Iran war "close to over" amid hopes for more negotiations
Investing.com-- Asian stocks fell on Monday after weekend talks between the U.S. and Iran reached no consensus, with Washington now preparing to blockade the Strait of Hormuz to pressure Tehran.
Regional markets tracked sharp losses in Wall Street futures, with S&P 500 Futures falling as much as 1% in Asian trade.
Asian stocks were spooked by a rebound in oil prices following the weekend developments, with Brent jumping 8% and back above the $100/barrel level on Monday. A U.S. blockade in Hormuz points to continued disruptions in oil and gas supplies to Asia.
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KOSPI, Nikkei lead losses after US-Iran talks fall through
South Korea’s KOSPI and Japan’s Nikkei 225 indexes were the worst performers in Asia, losing over 1% apiece. Japan’s TOPIX index shed 0.3%.
Australia’s ASX 200 fell 0.5%, while Singapore’s Straits Times index fell 0.3%.
Chinese stocks were somewhat resilient, with the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes moving in a flat-to-low range. But Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 1.2%, pressured by losses in technology stocks.
Marathon talks between the U.S. and Iran, held in Pakistan over the weekend, failed to yield a meaningful de-escalation in their war, with Washington announcing plans to blockade Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz.
But a fragile ceasefire between the two countries appeared to be holding, with no reports of strikes in the Middle East as of Monday morning.
Still, the prospect of a U.S. blockade of Hormuz added to concerns over more disruptions in global trade and energy markets. About 20% of the world’s oil supplies pass through Hormuz, with countries in Asia being especially dependent on the crossing.
“We enter week seven of the US–Iran war with ceasefire now looking fragile… With Brent breaking back above USD100/bbl on renewed escalation risk, equities are the obvious weak link: they have rebounded the most, while bonds have retraced the least,” OCBC analysts said in a note.
Asian equities had logged strong gains last week on news of the ceasefire talks. But they now appeared at risk of reversing said gains, especially if the U.S.-Iran war showed no signs of abating.
TSMC edges lower after bumper Q1 revenue; earnings on tap
TSMC (TW:2330) shares fell slightly in Taiwan trade on Monday, after the world’s largest contract chipmaker logged stronger-than-expected revenue for the first quarter.
TSMC’s revenue jumped 35% to T$1.13 trillion in the March quarter, more than expectations of T$1.12 trillion, as the company benefited from outsized demand in the artificial intelligence industry.
The chipmaker, which is considered as a bellwether for chips and AI demand, is set to report its full Q1 earnings later in the week.