World shares advance as oil prices climb higher and Iran launches new
attacks
[March 05, 2026] By
ELAINE KURTENBACH
BANGKOK (AP) — World shares advanced Thursday, while U.S. futures
slipped as Iran launched more missiles at Israel on the sixth day of the
war in the Middle East.
The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%. The S&P 500
future was down 0.1%.
Uncertainty about the war in the Middle East has been rattling financial
markets, with most taking their cues from what the price of oil is
doing.
“Yesterday’s bounce in risk assets already looks less like a turning
point and more like a classic relief rally in a market that briefly
inhaled before realizing the room was still on fire,” Stephen Innes of
SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
Crude prices climbed early Thursday, with Brent, the international
standard, gaining 1.8% to $82.87 per barrel. U.S. benchmark crude jumped
2.1% to $76.31 per barrel.
The war brought a fresh wave of attacks by Iran on Israeli and American
bases. Iran warned the United States would “bitterly regret” torpedoing
an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean and a religious leader called for
“Trump’s blood,” while Israel said it had begun a “large-scale” attack
on Tehran.
In Germany, the DAX regained lost ground, rising 0.2% to 24,253.24,
while the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.3% to 8,194.80. Britain's FTSE 100
added 0.4% to 10,609.63.
In Asian trading, South Korea’s Kospi took back much of its historic
losses from a day earlier, jumping 9.6% to 5,583.90. It had gained as
much as 12% earlier in the day as investors hunted bargains, triggering
temporary trading halts.
The government announced emergency measures for the economy after the
benchmark fell by the most ever in a single day on Wednesday. President
Lee Jae Myung urged officials to activate an emergency financial package
worth 100 trillion won ($68.5 billion) aimed at calming market
volatility.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gave back some early gains, closing 1.9% higher
at 55,278.06.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng climbed 0.3% to 25,321.34 after Chinese
Premier Li Qiang opened the annual session of the National People's
Congress with a report that set the annual target for economic growth
this year at 4.5% to 5%. A draft budget put the increase in military
spending at 7%, down from 7.2% in recent years.
The government pledged to support the sluggish domestic economy and spur
more consumer spending, but did not announce any major new stimulus.
The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.6% to 4,108.57.
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 In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose
0.4% to 8,940.30, while New Zealand's benchmark rose 0.6%.
Taiwan's main share index gained 2.6%.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks got a boost as oil prices steadied, albeit
temporarily. A report that said growth for U.S. businesses in the
real estate, finance and other services industries accelerated last
month at the fastest pace since the summer of 2022 also helped.
The S&P 500 rose 0.8%, erasing much of its losses since the war with
Iran began. The Dow industrials added 0.5% and the Nasdaq composite
climbed 1.3%.
Another report suggested U.S. private sector employers stepped up
hiring last month, a potentially hopeful signal for a more
comprehensive U.S. government Friday about the overall job market.
Investors are worried over how long the war with Iran could last,
how high inflation may go because of more expensive oil and how much
damage that might do to corporate profits.
Wall Street also got a lift from Big Tech stocks as Amazon rose 3.9%
and Nvidia added 1.7%. Because they’re among the biggest stocks in
the U.S. market in terms of total value, their movements carry more
weight on the S&P 500.
Wednesday’s strong reports on the economy were welcome news for the
Federal Reserve, whose job it is to keep the U.S. job market healthy
and inflation low. The Fed’s job has become more difficult because
of the jump in oil prices, which is pushing upward on already high
inflation.
In other dealings early Thursday, the U.S. dollar rose to 157.16
Japanese yen from 157.07 yen. The euro fell to $1.1623 from $1.1636.
The dollar has advanced against other currencies partly because the
U.S. is viewed as facing less risk from the war than other
countries, analysts said.
“When the world becomes less certain, capital gravitates toward the
deepest pool of liquidity available,” Innes said, adding that the
dollar “remains the market's preferred storm shelter.”
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AP Writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed.
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