Asian shares gain, oil slips back despite barrage of attacks by Iran

HONG KONG: Asia shares were mostly higher on Wednesday with benchmarks in Japan and South Korea jumping as oil prices fell back slightly despite a barrage of attacks by Iran on its Gulf neighbours.

US futures rose 0.4 per cent after a session of moderate gains on Wall Street ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates later in the day. With higher oil prices feeding into other inflation, the Fed is widely expected to keep rates on hold.

Worries over global oil and gas supplies and rising prices are still clouding global markets, though Brent crude, the international standard, fell 2.3 per cent to around USD 101 per barrel, down from above USD 106 on Monday.

US benchmark crude fell more than 3 per cent to USD 93.17 per barrel.

Iran lashed out Wednesday with multiple attacks on its Gulf neighbours and Israel following the killing of one of its top leaders in an airstrike, using some of its latest missiles to evade air defences and killing two near Tel Aviv.

But markets seem to have taken the latest escalations in stride.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 2.6 per cent to 55,106.69 after the government reported exports were higher than expected in February.

In South Korea, the Kospi jumped 3.8 per cent to 5,854.28.

Lower oil prices are a boon for big oil importers like Japan and South Korea.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.2 per cent to 25,816.92, while the Shanghai Composite index shed 0.5 per cent to 4,028.94.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.5 per cent to 8,653.40.

Taiwan's Taiex added 1.3 per cent and India's Sensex advanced 0.6 per cent.

Oil prices were down on Wednesday after earlier gains. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 1.2 per cent to USD 102.22 per barrel. It was above USD 106 on Monday. Benchmark US crude was down 1.8 per cent early Wednesday to USD 94.49 a barrel.

Global oil flows remain largely constrained, ING Bank analysts Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a research note on Wednesday, even as hopes were growing that Iran might be allowing more vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil and gas transport.

The strait, through which roughly a fifth of the world's crude oil passes, has been largely closed, and Iran had said it was blocking the US, Israel and its allies from crossing it.

On Tuesday, US stocks held steadier as the S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent to 6,716.09. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1 per cent to 46,993.26, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5 per cent higher to 22,479.53.

Shares of Delta Air Lines rose 6.6 per cent. The US carrier raised its revenue forecast as it expected strong demand, which could help offset jet fuel cost rises due to the Iran war.

Uber Technologies rose 4.2 per cent, after it announced expanding its partnership with chipmaker Nvidia to launch an autonomous vehicle fleet in the US, starting with San Francisco and Los Angeles next year.

In other dealings early Wednesday, the US dollar fell to 158.85 Japanese yen from 159.01 yen. The euro was trading at USD 1.1539, down from USD 1.1542.