07/10/2026 05:51 AST
Oil prices rose and Asian stocks fell Wednesday on fresh concerns over Middle East supplies, after a warning that Iran appeared to be stepping up attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. The retreat came as investors shrugged off another record day on Wall Street, where a rush back into artificial intelligence (AI) stocks lifted the Nasdaq and S&P 500.
Confidence had been boosted earlier this week by reports that exports from the Middle East, excluding Iran, were climbing back toward pre-war levels. That pushed global benchmark Brent below $100 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) below $90, easing inflation concerns and giving central banks some room to hold off on raising interest rates.
Both contracts rebounded Tuesday and rose again in early Asian trade, as figures showed Tehran had increased strikes on tankers in the strait. UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said there had been nine attacks so far this month. That is half the total for all of September in the waterway and the Persian Gulf combined.
Yemen's Houthis also claimed an attack on Riyadh's main airport and denied reports that they had been pushed back by government forces, which have launched a major operation to recapture lost territory. Yemen's military said it had driven the pro-Iran group from areas around the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, a Red Sea chokepoint, and the port city of Mocha. Senior oil officials have warned that global stockpiles are running low, which leaves governments less able to absorb the impact of the crisis.
"Reports of increased flows across the region have offered some downside pressure on crude, but this has been offset by varying reports around the scale of attacks on vessels moving through the Strait," said Chris Weston at Pepperstone. "For now, the market remains highly sensitive to headlines and geopolitical risk."
Equities dropped after an upbeat start to the week. Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Wellington and Taipei were all lower, while Sydney and Manila edged up. Asian traders failed to follow their US counterparts, who piled into tech firms ahead of an earnings season in which analysts expect S&P 500 profits to jump by a quarter year-on-year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence.
The Wall Street records were driven by further gains in chip giant Nvidia, whose market capitalization neared $5.7 trillion. Investors were also encouraged by a Financial Times report that SpaceX was looking to raise $40 billion to buy Nvidia chips. The rally follows a summer rout in tech stocks, fueled by worries that the huge sums companies had poured into AI may have been overdone and by questions over when, if ever, they would see a return. - AFP
Market data box (optional, around 0230 GMT)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 70,074.13 (break)Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.7 percent at 24,108.15Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holidayDollar/yen: UP at 158.38 yen from 158.17 yen on TuesdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1234 from $1.1257Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3251 from $1.3275Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.78 pence from 84.81 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.0 percent at $90.29 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.9 percent at $101.48 per barrelNew York - Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 51,521.28 (close)London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 10,541.69 (close)
AFP
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