Asia-Pacific markets were off to a mixed start on Monday as higher oil prices and rising tensions between the US and Iran weighed on investor sentiment after President Donald Trump rejected Tehran’s latest proposal to end the war.
Iran submitted a new proposal to US negotiators focused on ending the Middle East conflict. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing a knowledgeable source, said the counter-proposal called for an end to the war on all fronts and the lifting of sanctions on Tehran.
However, Trump said that he Did not like it Iran’s response and calls it “completely unacceptable!” In a true social post.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the war with Iran “is not over”, as the US and Israel still aim to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Netanyahu’s comments come ahead of Trump’s visit to China later this week, where he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. The war and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran have increased global energy costs and caused gas prices in the US to rise sharply.
West Texas Intermediate futures for June were up 2.93% at $98.35 a barrel by 7:30 p.m. ET. Brent crude futures for July rose 3.14% to $104.47 a barrel.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was headed for gains, with the Chicago futures contract trading at 63,745 and its Osaka counterpart at 63,760, compared with the index’s previous close of 62,713.65.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 26,250, lower than the index’s previous close of 26,393.71.
In Australia, futures last traded at 8,736, while the S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,744.40.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 143 points, or 0.3%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures also declined 0.3% each.
Sunday’s move comes after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose more than 2% and 4%, respectively, last week. Both indices recorded their sixth consecutive win – a first for each since 2024.
The Dow gained 0.2% this week, marking its fifth weekly gain in the last six.
– CNBC Alex Haring and Garrett Downs contributed to this report.
