London (AFP) – Oil surged and stocks fell on Thursday after Donald Trump threatened more heavy strikes on Iran and offered no solution to reopening the key Strait of Hormuz. But stocks clawed back some of their losses and oil receded from its highs ahead of a three-day weekend that will allow investors to catch their breaths as they await new developments in the Middle East war.
Investors had initially found little solace in the US president’s address to the nation, in which he again urged countries dependent on the waterway for energy supplies to reopen it themselves. “Trump didn’t offer a clear path to a relatively quick resolution to the Iran war or a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,” said Charles Schwab analyst Joe Mazzola.
After being down more than one percent, European markets closed mixed, with London higher, and Paris and Frankfurt slightly lower. New York shares had opened sharply lower but by late morning had clawed back most of their losses. Signs of de-escalation had buoyed markets in recent sessions, but Trump’s late Wednesday televised speech dashed those hopes. “Trump’s much anticipated address delivered little to nothing new on potential timelines or conditions for ending hostilities against Iran,” said Deutsche Bank managing director Jim Reid. “There was no signal of the US seeking an imminent offramp out of the war.”
International oil benchmark, Brent North Sea crude, which had fallen below $100 a barrel ahead of Trump’s speech, went on to rally around eight percent to above $109 per barrel, but had retreated to about $106 by late afternoon in Europe. London was one of the few markets to rise, finishing 0.6 percent higher, boosted by oil companies BP and Shell rising almost three percent. Paris dropped about half a percent, even as oil giant TotalEnergies was up almost three percent on reports it made a one billion dollar profit in March trading petroleum products. Most markets in Europe and the United States are closed Friday for Good Friday.
Earlier in the day, Tokyo closed down more than two percent, and Hong Kong and Shanghai also fell. World Bank Managing Director Paschal Donohoe said he was fearful about the global economic impact of the crisis. “We are extremely concerned regarding the effect that this will have on inflation, on jobs and on food security,” he told AFP as the Bank partners with the International Monetary Fund and International Energy Agency to coordinate aid responses.
– Key figures at around 1550 GMT –
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 6.3 percent at $107.47 a barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 10.2 percent at $110.36 a barrel
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 46,422.74 points
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.2 percent at 6,562.98
New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 21,790.97
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 10,436.29 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,962.39 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.6 percent at 23,168.08 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.4 percent at 52,463.27 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.7 percent at 25,116.53 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,919.29 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1549 from $1.1586 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3240 from $1.3305
Dollar/yen: UP at 159.30 from 158.88 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 87.27 pence from 87.08 pence
© 2024 AFP
