World shares mixed and oil prices retreat after the latest flare in Iran
tensions
[May 05, 2026] By
CHAN HO-HIM
HONG KONG (AP) — World shares were mixed Tuesday, following losses on
Wall Street after U.S. stocks retreated from record highs.
Oil prices fell back after rising earlier on escalating tensions in the
war between the U.S. and Iran.
U.S. futures edged more than 0.2% higher.
In early European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.8% to 10,280.87.
France's CAC 40 was up 0.6% to 8,026.89, while Germany's DAX gained 1%
to 24,232.45.
Asian regional trading was thin, with markets in Japan, South Korea and
mainland China closed for holidays.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.8% to 25,898.61, while Taiwan’s Taiex
gained 0.2%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.2% to 8,680.50 after the central bank
raised its benchmark interest rate to 4.35%, saying conflict in the
Middle East had sharply increased fuel and commodity prices that were
already adding to inflation. The cash rate hike on Tuesday was the
Reserve Bank of Australia’s third quarter percentage point rise this
year.
The bank said Australia’s inflation for the year through March was 4.6%.
The bank manipulates interest rates to steer inflation toward a target
band of 2% to 3%.
India's Sensex lost 0.4%.
The fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran was tested Monday after
the U.S. military said it had sank six Iranian small boats targeting
civilian ships, while two U.S.-flagged ships successfully passed through
the Strait of Hormuz.
The key waterway for oil and gas tranport remains largely closed despite
repeated demands from the U.S. for Iran to reopen the strait and as the
United States imposed a sea blockade on Iranian ports. U.S. President
Donald Trump's “Project Freedom” plan under which the United States
would help guide stranded ships through the Strait of Hormuz began on
Monday.
Brent crude, the international standard, fell $2.30 to $112.14 per
barrel. It surged above $114 a barrel on Monday, gaining nearly 6%.
Before the war began in late February, it was trading near $70.
[to top of second column] |
A board above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays the
closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Thursday, April
23, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
 Benchmark U.S. crude slipped $3.08
to $103.34 per barrel.
Talks on a permanent end to war have stalled. Tensions escalated
when the United Arab Emirates, a U.S. ally, said it came under
attack from Iran for the first time since the ceasefire last month.
“We are seeing the first signs of the ceasefire between the U.S. and
Iran breaking down amid a re-escalation in the Persian Gulf,” ING
Bank analysts Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a note
Tuesday.
“Continuation of 'Project Freedom' risks further escalation,” they
wrote. “Any relief from stranded vessels making their way through
the Strait will be temporary, with very few inbound vessels moving
into the Persian Gulf.”
On Monday, Wall Street closed lower with the benchmark S&P 500
slipping 0.4% from its latest record heights to 7,200.75. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1% to 48,941.90, while the
technology-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 0.2% to 25,067.80.
Shares of GameStop sank 10.1% after it said it wants to acquire
eBay, which has a market value that’s roughly four times of
GameStop’s.
The U.S. dollar rose to 157.46 Japanese yen from 157.25 yen. The
euro was trading at $1.1686, down from $1.1689.
___
Associated Press writer Rod McGuirk contributed.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
