TOKYO: World shares were mixed on Wednesday and oil prices climbed after Iran threatened to block Middle East energy exports now that the US has resumed its blockade of Iranian ports.
Stock price gains overall were moderate given worries that the United States and Iran may return to an all-out war. Renewed attacks in the Middle East have raised the risks of further disruptions of transport of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing oil prices higher.
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened Wednesday to halt all energy exports from the Middle East over the US blockade. US President Donald Trump announced Monday that the blockade was resumed as an interim agreement on ending the war unravelled.
“The export of oil and gas from the region will be either for everyone or for no one,” said the statement by the Iranian side.
Brent crude, the international standard, rose 0.6 per cent to USD 85.23 a barrel, while benchmark US crude gained 0.7 per cent to USD 79.89 a barrel.
“The US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding signed last month has proved to be anything but. The two sides are once again exchanging military strikes, and they hold completely different views on the state of affairs in the Strait of Hormuz,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.
“With shipping around the Gulf becoming increasingly fraught with danger, traffic flows are declining once more,” he said.
In early European trading, France's CAC 40 rose 0.5 per cent to 8,371.11, while the German DAX shed 0.5 per cent to 25,014.37. Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.2 per cent to 10,513.40.
South Korea's Kospi led gains in Asia, surging 6.2 per cent to 7,284.41 as prices rebounded from a recent sell-off in semiconductor stocks. Shares in computer chipmaker SK Hynix rose 8.8 per cent, while those of Samsung Electronics surged 6.3 per cent.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.5 per cent to finish at 68,751.51.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4 per cent to 8,841.10.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 1.4 per cent to 24,681.10, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.3 per cent to 3,955.58 after the Chinese government reported the economy expanded at a 4.3 per cent annualised pace in April-June, slowing sharply from 5 per cent in the first quarter of the year.
On Tuesday, US stocks rallied following a report that showed US inflation was not as bad last month as economists expected. It said US consumers had to pay prices for gasoline, food and other costs of living that were 3.5 per cent higher last month than a year earlier.
The S&P 500 added 0.4 per cent to recover some of its 0.8 per cent loss from the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added less than 0.1 per cent and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.9 per cent.
Investors are watching for earnings reports this week from various global companies.
In currency trading, the US dollar edged up to 162.32 Japanese yen from 162.26 yen. The euro cost USD 1.1421, down from USD 1.1423.