Oil prices rise again and Asian stocks retreat on the fragile Iran ceasefire

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HONG KONG (AP) — Oil rose again to above $97 a barrel and Asian stocks were trading lower Thursday on skepticism over a fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.

Investors were closely watching whether a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran was already slipping after a round of deadly Israeli strikes on Lebanon that killed and injured hundreds. Iran again closed the Strait of Hormuz, in response to the attacks in Lebanon.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.9% to 55,824.30, while South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.6% to 5,776.03.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.4% to 25,801.87. The Shanghai Composite index was down 0.7% to 3,965.70.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.1%, while Taiwan’s Taiex was also 0.1% lower.

U.S. futures were down more than 0.1%.

Oil prices were up Thursday, reversing an earlier plunge on optimism over the temporary ceasefire agreement. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 2.4% to $97.02 per barrel. It previously fell briefly to below $92 a barrel following the temporary ceasefire announcement.

Benchmark U.S. crude was 3.3% higher on Thursday at $97.50 a barrel.

Uncertainties over global energy supply remained. The Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for energy transport where a fifth of the world’s oil typically passes, was largely closed even though the U.S. repeatedly demanded that the strait must be reopened.

Talks to pursue a permanent end to the war could be taking place as soon as Friday in Pakistan, and U.S. Vice President JD Vance is expected to be leading the negotiating team for the United States.

Wall Street closed higher Wednesday following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a two-week ceasefire with Iran late Tuesday.

The S&P 500 jumped 2.5% to 6,782.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.9% to 47,909.92. The Nasdaq composite was up 2.8% to 22,635.00.

Following renewed hopes over deescalation of the war, shares of United Airlines surged 7.9% on Wednesday, American Airlines was up 5.6%, while cruise ship operator Carnival jumped 11.2%, trimming losses since the Iran war began on concerns over rising fuel costs.

In other dealings, gold and silver prices fell. Gold’s price dropped 0.7% to $4,743.20 an ounce. The price of silver fell 1.6% to $74.18 per ounce.

The U.S. dollar rose to 158.66 Japanese yen from 158.57 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1668, up from $1.1663.

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AP journalists Stan Choe and Aniruddha Ghosal contributed to this report.