HONG KONG (AP) — World shares were mixed and oil was trading below $80 a barrel on Wednesday as investors watched for details on the interim agreement between the U.S. and Iran to end the war.
U.S. futures were also trading mixed ahead of a decision by the Federal Reserve on interest rates.
In early European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.2% lower to 10,471.84, following official data that showed U.K. inflation was steady in May at 2.8% even as fuel prices increased. Germany's DAX fell 0.3% to 24,829.58, while France's CAC 40 was up 0.2% to 8,465.32.
Asian stocks were mostly higher with markets in Japan and South Korea setting new records. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.7% to 69,902.25, after reaching an intraday high of 70,125.75 following news that Japan’s exports jumped 17% in May from a year earlier, helped in part by strong demand for high-tech products.
South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.6% to 8,864.24, also closing at another all-time high, with big technology stocks climbing despite a sell-off of artificial intelligence-related shares on Wall Street. Samsung Electronics, the country’s most valuable company, was up 1%. Chipmaker SK Hynix jumped 5.8%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.7% to 24,312.16, while the Shanghai Composite index rose 0.4% to 4,108.08.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.5% to 8,966.30.
Taiwan’s Taiex added 0.2% and India’s Sensex rose 0.3%.
Oil prices steadied after falling sharply earlier on optimism over a possible end to the war and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, crucial for oil and gas transport worldwide. But challenges remain, including whether the deal includes Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.
Brent crude, the international standard, edged 0.1% higher to $79.05 per barrel early Wednesday after falling more than 5% on Tuesday. It was above its roughly $70 a barrel level in late February, before the war started.
Benchmark U.S. crude was nearly unchanged at $76.02 a barrel.
“Normalizing (oil) flows will take time,” economists at HSBC wrote in a note this week. “Hurdles include mine clearance, insurance reinstatement, emptying excess Gulf oil storage, repositioning ships, and restarting idled production fields.”
Later in the day the Federal Reserve will wrap up a two-day policy meeting, the first under its new chair Kevin Warsh. It is widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged despite pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to cut rates.
Worries over higher prices due to the Iran war may lead the Fed to stand pat, since lower rates could fuel higher inflation.
“With weak wage growth and rent growth, underlying forces are pointing to inflation falling sharply once the energy price shock recedes. We don’t expect the Fed to hike rates in 2026,” Preston Caldwell, chief U.S. economist at Morningstar wrote in a commentary. “We expect the Fed to resume cutting in 2027.”
Early Wednesday, the U.S. dollar fell to 160.15 Japanese yen from 160.42 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1601, down from $1.1608.
On Tuesday, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 fell 0.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6%, hitting another all-time high.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 1.2% to 26,376.34 following losses of some big tech stocks over renewed worries about an AI bubble.
Shares of Nvidia fell 2.4%. Chipmaker Broadcom dropped 4.4% and Micron Technology lost 6.2%.
SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket company, was up 4.8%, gaining for the third straight day since its Wall Street debut.
Yum Brands gained 1.9% after it announced it is selling Pizza Hut for $2.7 billion, with most restaurants purchased by U.S.-based private equity firm LongRange Capital.
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AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
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