Oil prices rise again and world shares retreat on the fragile Iran
ceasefire
[April 09, 2026] By
CHAN HO-HIM
HONG KONG (AP) — Oil rose again and world shares were mostly down
Thursday on skepticism over a fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and
Iran.
Investors were closely watching whether a two-week ceasefire between the
United States and Iran was already slipping after a round of intense
Israeli strikes on Lebanon that killed and injured hundreds. Iran again
closed the Strait of Hormuz, in response to the attacks in Lebanon.
In early European trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3% to 10,572.73.
France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.8% to 8,198.77, while Germany’s DAX lost 1.3%
to 23,771.68.
Asian shares closed mostly lower. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.7% to
55,895.32, while South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.6% to 5,778.01. Hong Kong’s
Hang Seng fell 0.5% to 25,752.40. The Shanghai Composite index was down
0.7% to 3,966.17. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2% to 8,973.20.
Taiwan’s Taiex was 0.3% higher, while India's Sensex dropped 1.6%.
U.S. futures were down more than 0.4%.
Oil prices were up Thursday, reversing an earlier plunge on optimism
over the temporary ceasefire agreement. Brent crude, the international
standard, was up 3.5% to $98.09 per barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude was
3.6% higher on Thursday at $97.83 a barrel.
Uncertainties over global energy supply remained. The Strait of Hormuz,
a chokepoint for energy transport where a fifth of the world’s oil
typically passes, was largely closed even though the U.S. repeatedly
demanded that it must be reopened.
“(Oil) prices rebounded as fighting in the Middle East continued, and
the ceasefire outlook deteriorated, keeping uncertainty around the
Strait of Hormuz firmly in focus,” ING Bank analysts Ewa Manthey and
Warren Patterson wrote in a note Thursday.
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A currency trader works near a screen showing international oil
prices at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank
headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP
Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
 Talks to pursue a permanent end to
the war could start in Pakistan on Saturday, and Vice President JD
Vance is expected to lead the U.S. delegation. President Donald
Trump posted on his Truth Social media platform that U.S. military
will remain around Iran “until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT
reached is fully complied with.”
Wall Street closed higher Wednesday following Trump’s announcement
of a two-week ceasefire with Iran late Tuesday.
The S&P 500 jumped 2.5% to 6,782.81. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average rose 2.9% to 47,909.92. The Nasdaq composite was up 2.8% to
22,635.00.
Following renewed hopes over de-escalation of the war, shares of
United Airlines surged 7.9% on Wednesday, American Airlines was up
5.6%, while cruise ship operator Carnival jumped 11.2%, trimming
losses since the Iran war began on concerns over rising fuel costs.
In other dealings, gold and silver prices fell. Gold’s price dropped
0.6% to $4,750.20 an ounce. The price of silver fell 1.7% to $74.08
per ounce.
The U.S. dollar rose to 158.95 Japanese yen from 158.57 yen. The
euro was trading at $1.1675, up from $1.1663.
___
Associated Press writer Aniruddha Ghosal contributed to this report.
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