Asian Stocks Mixed as Investors Weigh Iran Conflict Developments — Update

By Ronnie Harui

Asian equity markets were mixed Tuesday as investors weighed developments surrounding the U.S.-Iran conflict.

President Trump has opted to use economic pressure in hopes of a new outcome in the U.S.-Iran conflict, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. officials. Trump has adopted a wait-and-see stance that would allow financial sanctions and a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports more time to inflict economic harm, the U.S. officials said.

"They have no money," Trump told reporters Monday. "Iran is broke, totally broke," he added. Meanwhile, Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry, said the strategy wouldn't work and indicates the U.S. was incapable at diplomacy.

South Korea's Kospi rose 1.2%, Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index gained 0.8%, and Taiwan's Taiex was 0.3% higher. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.6%, Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI lost 0.5%, and China's Shanghai Composite was 0.05% down. Japan's financial markets were closed for a public holiday on Tuesday.

"Investors weighed signs of progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz against lingering doubts that the U.S. and Iran can reach a broader resolution to the conflict," UOB's Global Economic & Markets Research team said in a research report.

Crude oil futures swung between mild gains and losses as traders parsed U.S. strategy to reach a deal in order to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which one-fifth of the world's oil is transported.

The latest series of comments from the U.S. and Iran "supported the assumption that the U.S. is reluctant to resume military action, whether due to concerns over the efficacy of such strikes or to conserve munitions," InTouch Capital Markets' analysts' team said in a commentary, noting news that the Pentagon had written to U.S. defense manufacturers asking them to quickly increase production.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were recently 0.1% higher at $82.22 per barrel and front-month Brent crude oil futures were 0.1% higher at $87.78 a barrel, ICE data showed.

"Iran's military action or inaction may be the near term focus for oil markets," InTouch Capital Markets' analysts' team added.

In foreign exchange markets, the yen strengthened slightly amid prospects of coordinated intervention by Japan and the U.S.

"Traders would be wise to keep a wary eye on the potential for fresh intervention in the yen," StoneX's Matt Simpson said in a commentary. Traders are on "high alert for pockets of weak U.S. data, and U.S. CPI is no exception," the senior market analyst said, refering to U.S. consumer price index data due Wednesday.

"With the MOF [Japan's ministry of finance] joining forces with the U.S. Treasury and vowing to intervene, even a slightly softer CPI report could bode well for dollar-yen bears," Simpson added.

The dollar was 0.1% lower at 159.17 yen while the euro was 0.1% lower at Y183.73, LSEG data showed.

Write to Ronnie Harui at ronnie.harui@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 11, 2026 01:28 ET (05:28 GMT)