Asian stocks held firm on Wednesday while oil prices lingered near multi-week lows, as a tentative ceasefire between Israel and Iran continued to support investor sentiment, reported news agency Reuters .
Though risks of renewed hostilities remain, the fragile truce has helped soothe market nerves after weeks of geopolitical turbulence.
Japan’s Nikkei and Australia’s ASX 200 were little changed, while Taiwan’s Taiex gained 1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.6% and Chinese blue-chip stocks dipped 0.1%.
Broader market sentiment was steady, with the MSCI world stock index hovering near record highs.
The positive momentum was underpinned by easing oil prices.
Brent crude fell nearly 7% to $67.14 per barrel, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate dropped 6% to $64.37, extending Tuesday’s losses, reported news agency AFP.
This marks two consecutive days of steep declines as markets reacted to signs that oil supply routes in the Middle East remain unaffected. Analysts said the fall was also driven by US President Donald Trump’s claim that China may resume buying Iranian oil, further easing fears of a supply crunch.
“The de-escalation seems to be doing better,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth, as quoted by AFP. Crude prices, now below pre-conflict levels, are seen as reducing inflationary risks and could open space for central banks to consider interest rate cuts .
The drop in oil prices also pushed US Treasury yields lower. The 10-year yield fell to 4.29%, and the two-year yield slipped to 3.81%, signalling rising expectations of a policy pivot, reported AP.