Both main oil prices also fell to hold below US$100, with West Texas Intermediate down around 2 per cent and Brent 1.5 per cent lower.
The equity advances extended a rebound enjoyed last week after Washington and Tehran announced a two-week ceasefire in the war, which has sent shockwaves through the world economy since it started on Feb 28.
SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes said the rallies have been built on “the belief that diplomacy, however imperfect, remains in play. Last week’s advance was not driven by resolution but by hope”.
“The talks in Pakistan did not deliver a deal, but they did something just as important. They kept the door open. And in markets, an open door is often enough,” he added.
“Oil felt that shift immediately. Not because the physical reality changed, but because the narrative did. The market began to price not the blockade itself, but the possibility that it is being used as leverage rather than a prelude to something more destructive.”
Still, in a social media post, Trump said the bulk of Iran’s navy had already been destroyed but that if any of what he said were Tehran’s few remaining “fast attack ships” approach the blockade “they will be immediately ELIMINATED”.
He also said 34 ships had passed through the strait Sunday, adding it was the most since the war began, though the figure could not be immediately corroborated.
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