HONG KONG – Shares were mixed in Asia and oil prices slipped on Thursday as conflict escalated in the Middle East, with Iran and the U.S. launching fresh attacks.
U.S. futures advanced.
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The United States launched more airstrikes on Iran, and Iran responded by firing at Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said their temporary ceasefire was “over.” The prospects for a lasting peace remained uncertain, with high-level talks seeking to salvage an interim agreement on ending the war still underway, according to a regional intelligence official involved in the mediation efforts who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the delicate behind-the-scenes negotiations.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 reversed some of its losses from earlier in the week, gaining 1.4% to 67,743.85, helped by technology-related shares. Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron jumped 5.5%, and artificial intelligence-focused investment holding firm SoftBank Group slipped 0.1%.
South Korea’s Kospi index zigzagged, rising 0.6% to 7,291.91 despite a loss earlier in the day. It fell 5.4% on Wednesday. Samsung Electronics was up 0.2% on Thursday, while memory chipmaker SK Hynix gained 5.3%.
The Shanghai Composite index traded 1.7% higher at 4,036.59, even as China’s producer price index rose 4.1% in June compared to a year earlier. That was higher than May’s 3.9%, as some economists attribute the accelerating inflation to rising costs due to the Iran war.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.7% to 24,027.97. Shares of Apple supplier Luxshare fell 2.5% in its trading debut in Hong Kong. Chinese AI company Zhipu, or Z.ai, surged 9.3% after it said it's raising about $4 billion through a share sale.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.3% to 8,762.50.
Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.8%, and India’s Sensex climbed 0.7%.
Oil prices fell back early Thursday, with Brent crude, the international standard, falling $1 to $77.00 per barrel. It briefly topped $80 on Wednesday. Before the Iran war began, Brent oil was trading at around $72 a barrel. Earlier optimism over an interim peace deal recently brought it back to prewar levels.
Benchmark U.S. crude declined 83 cents to $72.69 a barrel.
On Wednesday, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 ended 0.3% lower at 7,482.71. It dropped as much as 1.1% after Trump’s comment on the ceasefire agreement.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.1% to 52,348.39, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite edged up 0.2% following an earlier loss to 25,870.65.
U.S. chipmaker Broadcom surged 4.8%, after Apple committed to a multiyear partnership with the company.
In other dealings, the U.S. dollar fell to 162.37 Japanese yen from 162.59 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1438, up from $1.1417.