Stocks rise, oil dips after Trump holds off on Iran attack
Stock markets mostly rose Tuesday as investors tracked easing oil prices and cautious optimism over a potential deal between the US and Iran to end a war that has sent energy prices soaring.
US President Donald Trump said he held off a major new assault on Iran as he saw hopes for securing an agreement to end the conflict sparked by US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February.
European stocks climbed, with Frankfurt rising more than one percent while London and Paris both advanced more than 0.5 percent.
"Investors are showing relief that tensions haven't escalated," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
He added, however, that "oil prices remain at high enough levels to weigh on the global economy".
Brent crude, the international benchmark, hovered at around $110 a barrel, down from Monday's prices but still up more than 50 percent since the outbreak of the Middle East war.
The Middle East war has led to an effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20 percent of global oil exports passed in peacetime.
Trump said Tuesday that he stopped his purported attack plan at the urging of Gulf Arab allies, which Iran has threatened with reciprocal attacks if the US and Israel end a nearly six-week ceasefire.
Iran's army warned that it would "open new fronts" against the United States if it resumes attacks.
Investor sentiment remained fragile as elevated energy prices fuel inflation risks and cloud the outlook for interest rates.
"The durability of this de-escalation -- and whether it translates into a sustained decline in oil prices -- remains the single most important driver for global bond yields," said Michael Wan of financial group MUFG.
Tech stocks in Asia retreated, tracking a slump on Wall Street. In South Korea, artificial intelligence heavyweight SK hynix slid more than five percent and Samsung Electronics fell by around one percent.
The Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets advanced while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed modestly lower even though Japan reported its gross domestic product expanded 0.5 percent in the first quarter, exceeding market forecasts.
All eyes will turn to Wednesday's quarterly results from US chip titan Nvidia, which will be scrutinised as investors question whether huge spending on AI data centres is justified by potential returns.
In other corporate news, shares in Standard Chartered dipped 0.6 percent as the British bank revealed plans to axe thousands of jobs as deploys AI to replace employees in a range of administrative roles.
- Key figures at around 1100 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 10,386.82 points
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 8,049.77
Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 1.4 percent at 24,641.40
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 60,550.59 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 25,797.85 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.9 percent at 4,169.54 (close)
New York - DOW: UP 0.3 percent at 49,686.12 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at 1.1621 from $1.1650 on Monday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3405 from $1.3422
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.71 from 86.77 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 159.13 from 158.93 yen
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.1 percent at $110.90 a barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $108.10 a barrel
(L.Møller--DTZ)
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