Oil falls more than 5% and world shares gain over possible de-escalation
of Iran war
[March 25, 2026] By
CHAN HO-HIM
HONG KONG (AP) — Oil prices fell more than 5% and world shares gained on
Wednesday over the possibility of a de-escalation of the Iran war and
negotiations between the United States and Iran. U.S. futures were up
0.9%.
In early European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1% to 10,072.60.
France's CAC 40 was up 1.4% to 7,855.31, while Germany's DAX was 1.6%
higher at 22,989.80.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was up 2.9% to 53,749.62. South Korea’s Kospi gained
1.6% to 5,642.21.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.1% to 25,335.95, while the Shanghai
Composite index was 1.3% higher at 3,931.84. Labubu doll maker Pop
Mart's Hong Kong-listed shares fell 22.5%, after it announced annual
revenue for last year that was largely in line with analysts’ estimates.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.9%. Taiwan’s Taiex was up 2.5%.
U.S. President Donald Trump's claims of progress being made from talks
with Iran this week and his postponement on Monday of a deadline to
“obliterate” Iran’s power plants over the reopening of the Strait of
Hormuz have also fueled optimism that an end to the Iran war could come
soon.
Trump's administration has offered a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran,
but an Iranian military spokesperson mocked the U.S.’ attempt at a
ceasefire deal Wednesday.
With the Strait of Hormuz being a key waterway for crude oil and
liquefied natural gas transport, oil and gas prices have spiked and
fluctuated in recent days.
Oil prices fell again on growing hopes for a de-escalation. Brent crude,
the international standard, fell 5.2% to $94.97 per barrel. It was
around $104 on Tuesday.
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 Benchmark U.S. crude was down 5.3%
early Wednesday to $87.44 a barrel.
While Iran has denied negotiations were taking place, and attacks in
the Middle East continued, Pakistan has offered to host talks
between Washington and Tehran. And as Trump raised optimism of a
de-escalation of the war, at least 1,000 more American troops from
the 82nd Airborne Division are said to be deployed to the Middle
East in the coming days.
On Tuesday, U.S. stocks closed lower. The S&P 500 lost 0.4% to
6,556.37. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.2% to
46,124.06, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% lower to 21,761.89.
Shares of Estee Lauder sank more than 9%, following confirmation
that the U.S.-listed company is in merger talks with Spanish beauty
and perfume group Puig.
In other dealings early Wednesday, gold prices resumed its rise
after falling earlier. It dropped in part because of rising U.S.
Treasury yields over dimming expectations of a Federal Reserve rate
cut after the spike in oil prices threatened to fuel global
inflation.
The price of gold was up 3.6% early Wednesday to $4,561.90 per
ounce. It was above $5,000 earlier this month.
The U.S. dollar was at 158.84 Japanese yen, up from 158.69. The euro
was trading at 1.1602, down from $1.1608.
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