Asian stocks lower and oil falls after Wall Street sets another record
on ceasefire hopes
[April 17, 2026] By
CHAN HO-HIM
HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks were mostly lower Friday even after Wall
Street set another record, as investors watched for signs of more
U.S.-Iran talks and an extension of the ceasefire of the Iran war that
is expiring next week.
Oil prices fell Friday, while U.S. futures edged up.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.8% to 58,475.90 after reaching an all-time
high on Thursday. South Korea’s Kospi was 0.6% lower at 6,191.92.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1% to 26,143.60. Shares of Chinese spatial
design software firm Manycore Tech, one of the so-called leading “six
little dragons” technology companies of Hangzhou, was up more than 140%
on its first day of trading in Hong Kong, fueled by the artificial
intelligence boom. The Shanghai Composite index edged down 0.1% to
4,051.43.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.1%. Taiwan’s Taiex traded 0.9% lower,
while India's Sensex gained 0.4%.
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that he’s open to
extending the two-week ceasefire in the Iran war, and Iran’s U.N. envoy
said Tehran remained “cautiously optimistic” over negotiations with the
U.S.
As optimism over an extended ceasefire grew, oil prices fell early
Friday after climbing a day earlier. Brent crude, the international
standard, was 1.1% lower at $98.26 per barrel. It had surged roughly 40%
since the beginning of the Iran war in late February. Benchmark U.S.
crude was down 1.6% to $89.70 a barrel.
Global energy shocks are growing over impacts of the Iran war, with the
Strait of Hormuz remaining largely closed while the U.S. imposed a sea
blockade on Iranian ports. The head of the International Energy Agency
told The Associated Press on Thursday that Europe has “maybe six weeks
or so” of jet fuel supplies remaining and warned of flight cancellations
“soon.”
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A currency trader talks on the phone 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 17, 2026. (AP
Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
 On Thursday, Wall Street set another
record with the benchmark S&P 500 closing 0.3% higher at 7,041.28,
just a day after it eclipsed its previous all-time high in January.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 48,578.72, and the
tech-focused Nasdaq composite added 0.4% to 24,102.70.
Shares of PepsiCo gained 2.3% following its announcement of
better-than-expected quarterly results. U.S. logistics company J.B.
Hunt Transport Services was 6.3% higher also on
stronger-than-expected results.
In other dealings, gold was 0.1% lower at $4,806.10 an ounce, while
silver prices gained 0.3% to $78.94 per ounce.
The U.S. dollar rose to 159.25 Japanese yen from 159.17 yen. The
euro was trading at $1.1782, up from $1.1781.
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