HONG KONG: World shares were higher and oil fell briefly below $100 per barrel on Wednesday after US stocks soared to their best day in almost a year on renewed hopes that the Iran war could soon end.
The renewed optimism over a possible de-escalation of the Iran war, which is in its fifth week, came after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States will be done attacking Iran probably in two to three weeks, and that the US “will not have anything to do with” what happens next in the Strait of Hormuz.
In early European trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 1.8% to 10,356.41. France’s CAC 40 was 1.3% higher at 7,920.89, and Germany’s DAX climbed 1.6% to 23,052.89.
Asian shares closed sharply higher. South Korea’s Kospi recovered its losses from earlier this week, surging 8.4% to 5,478.70, while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 5.2% to 53,739.68. A survey by Japan’s central bank released Wednesday showed business sentiment for major Japanese manufacturers improved despite Iran war worries.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 2.2% to 25,339.45, while the Shanghai Composite index was trading 1.5% higher at 3,948.55. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 2.2% to 8,671.80. Taiwan’s Taiex climbed 4.6%, and India’s Sensex rose 1.7%. US futures were 0.4% higher.
AP