Asian stocks slip, oil prices jump as Iran, US launch fresh attacks

HONG KONG: Shares slipped in Asia and oil prices jumped Thursday as conflict escalated in the Middle East, with Iran and the US launching fresh attacks.

US futures edged higher.

The United States launched more airstrikes on Iran, and Iran responded by firing at Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, a day after US President Donald Trump said their temporary ceasefire was “over.”

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 reversed some of its losses from earlier in the week, gaining 1.6 per cent to 67,849.98, helped by technology-related shares. Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron jumped 5 per cent, and artificial intelligence-focused investment holding firm SoftBank Group rose 0.4 per cent.

South Korea's Kospi index zigzagged, rising 0.1 per cent to 7,255.09 despite a loss earlier in the day. It fell 5.4 per cent on Wednesday. Samsung Electronics was down 1.3 per cent on Thursday, while memory chip maker SK Hynix gained 3.6 per cent.

The Shanghai Composite index traded 0.5 per cent lower at 3,952.49, after China's producer price index rose 4.1 per cent in June compared to a year earlier. That was higher than May's 3.9 per cent, as some economists attribute the accelerating inflation to rising costs due to the Iran war.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.8 per cent to 24,011.61. Shares of Apple supplier Luxshare fell 5 per cent in its trading debut in Hong Kong. Chinese AI company Zhipu, or Z.ai, surged 11.5 per cent after it said it's raising about USD 4 billion through a share sale.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.5 per cent to 8,745.20.

Taiwan's Taiex was flat and India's Sensex climbed 0.7 per cent.

Oil prices were trading higher early Thursday, with Brent crude, the international standard, gaining 1.1 per cent to USD 78.88 per barrel. It briefly topped USD 80 on Wednesday before trimming some gains. Before the Iran war began, Brent oil was trading at around USD 72 a barrel. Earlier optimism over an interim peace deal recently brought it back to pre-war levels.

Benchmark US crude was also trading 1.1 per cent higher at USD 74.32 a barrel.

“The oil market has continued to rally as the ceasefire between the US and Iran appears to be on life support,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a commentary.

The pair said that vessel tracking data showed tanker crossings in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil transport, have fallen in recent days. That's reigniting investor concerns on oil supplies.

On Wednesday, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 ended 0.3 per cent lower at 7,482.71. It dropped as much as 1.1 per cent after Trump's comment on the ceasefire agreement.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.1 per cent to 52,348.39, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite edged up 0.2 per cent following an earlier loss to 25,870.65.

US chipmaker Broadcom surged 4.8 per cent, after Apple committed to a multiyear partnership with the company.

In other dealings, the US dollar fell to 162.45 Japanese yen from 162.59 yen. The euro was trading at USD 1.1430, up from USD 1.1417.