Stocks mostly decline as the Iran war standoff pushes oil prices higher
[April 24, 2026] By
CHAN HO-HIM
HONG KONG (AP) — World shares were mostly lower while oil prices pushed
higher Friday as talks on ending the war between the U.S. and Iran
remained stalled.
U.S. futures also wavered after Wall Street pulled back from its
all-time highs. The future for the S&P 500 edged 0.1% higher, while that
for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2%.
In early European trading, Germany's DAX lost 0.2% to 24,106.17 and the
CAC 40 in Paris dropped 1% to 8,147.70. Britain's FTSE 100 sagged 0.6%
to 10,397.64.
During Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 1% to 59,716.18, led by
heavy buying of technology stocks. On Thursday, it hit a record intraday
high above 60,000.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng reversed earlier losses to add 0.2%, closing at
25,978.07, while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% lower to
4,079.90.
South Korea’s Kospi closed nearly unchanged at 6,475.63.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.1% to 8.786.50.
Taiwan’s Taiex jumped 3.2% as computer chipmaker TSMC, which makes up a
key part of the index, gained 5.1%.
India's Sensex lost 1.4%.
Progress on another round of peace talks between the United States and
Iran was limited even after President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the
U.S. was indefinitely extending a two-week ceasefire with Iran, a day
before it was originally set to expire.
The Strait of Hormuz, a key passageway for global energy where roughly a
fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas normally passed through before
the war, remains largely closed and a U.S. sea blockade of Iranian ports
is still in effect. After the U.S. imposed a blockade on Iranian ports
last week, Iran attacked three ships in the strait on Wednesday and
seized two of them.
Trump said Thursday that the U.S. military was intensifying its
mine-clearing efforts in the strait and he ordered the military to
“shoot and kill” small Iranian boats laying mines in the area.
Oil prices have remained elevated since the Iran war began on Feb. 28.
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A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea
Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign
exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center
left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank
headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP
Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
 The price for a barrel of Brent
crude to be delivered in June rose 3.1% on Thursday to settle at
$105.07 and at one point topped $107. The price for a barrel of
Brent to be delivered in July, which is the more popular contract
for traders, settled at $99.35 after rising as high as $101.
Early Friday, Brent crude was up 98 cents at $100.33 a barrel. U.S.
benchmark crude picked up 81 cents to $96.66 per barrel.
The global energy shock caused by the Iran war has threatened to
worsen inflation in many countries and shaken world markets. But
Wall Street has still hit record highs, helped by strong corporate
earnings and some optimism that the war will end soon.
On Thursday, the benchmark S&P 500 dropped 0.4%, halting a weekslong
rally that lifted it to new all-time highs. The Dow industrials also
declined 0.4%, while the technology stocks-heavy Nasdaq composite
dropped 0.9%.
Shares of Tesla sank 3.6%, dragging the market lower despite
strong-than-expected quarterly results as investors focused on a big
jump in capital expenditures as the company pivots towards
artificial intelligence and robotics.
Paramount Skydance lost 4.5%, following approval by Warner Bros.
Discovery's shareholders of its merger with Paramount. Shares of
Warner Bros. Discovery fell 1.6%.
In other dealings early Friday, the U.S. dollar rose to 159.74
Japanese yen from 159.71 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1687, down
from $1.1683.
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