finance
Asian stocks rise and oil prices fall as traders track Iran developments
Asian equity indexes gained on Friday while oil prices declined. Markets reacted to renewed tensions between Iran and the United States after the ceasefire agreement ended.
Jul 10, 2:59 AM·1m read1 source
The IndependentAudio version
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Asian stock markets advanced Friday, led by technology shares, while oil prices slipped as traders monitored developments in the Iran conflict. U.S. futures pointed lower. South Korea’s Kospi rose 2.5 percent to 7,475.94. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.9 percent to 69,030.35.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index increased 1.8 percent to 24,455.01. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5 percent to 8,806.00. India’s Sensex climbed 0.9 percent.
Market moves SoftBank Group shares jumped 10.5 percent in Tokyo.
Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose 4 percent. Memory chipmaker SK Hynix gained 2.2 percent ahead of its Nasdaq debut. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.5 percent to 4,017.50 after erasing earlier losses.
Oil and currency Brent crude declined 0.3 percent to $76.07 per barrel.
U.S. benchmark crude also fell 0.3 percent to $71.89. Supplies remain constrained by limited vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. dollar weakened to 161.56 Japanese yen. The euro rose to $1.1444. Japan’s finance minister said the government plans to encourage pension funds to increase holdings of yen-denominated assets.
Wall Street closed higher Thursday, with the S&P 500 up 0.8 percent to 7,543.64 and the Nasdaq composite gaining 1.3 percent to 26,206.89.
