TOKYO: Asian shares gained and oil prices were down on Tuesday (Jun 24), as fears of an energy market shock eased following United States President Donald Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.
Investors were relieved that Iran did not retaliate to a US attack on its nuclear facilities by throttling oil transport through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
On Monday, Iran said it had launched missiles at a major US base in Qatar, which described the situation as stable, while analysts said oilfield assets were unaffected.
“Tehran played it cool. Their ‘retaliation’ hit a US base in Qatar – loud enough for headlines, quiet enough not to shake the oil market’s foundations,” said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.
“And once that became clear, the war premium came crashing out of crude,” with Brent and the main US crude contract WTI sliding more than 7 per cent overnight.
Both oil contracts were down over 2 per cent on Tuesday.
In Asia, the mood was largely upbeat, with Tokyo and Hong Kong up 1.4 per cent, Shanghai gaining 0.8 per cent and Seoul jumping 2.7 per cent.
Singapore gained 0.7 per cent, Sydney was up 1.1 per cent and Taipei put on 1.8 per cent, but Jakarta was down 1.7 per cent.
