Oil Eases, Asian Equities Mixed as Mideast Tensions Show Signs of Cooling

By Kimberley Kao

Oil prices declined and Asian equities were mixed after President Trump said the U.S. won't attack Iran before the November midterm elections.

Iran has ramped up its attacks on commercial tankers seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks, putting pressure on the U.S. to respond to the growing aggression.

In a Truth Social post Thursday, Trump said, "We will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd. IRAN WILL NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!" The president cited "productive discussions" with Tehran.

Oil softened after Trump's remarks. On Friday in Asia, front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell 0.8% to $90.74 a barrel, while front-month Brent crude oil futures declined 1.0% but remained above $103 a barrel, according to ICE data.

Still, "any renewed hostilities threaten to disrupt the recovery in oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz that has emerged in recent weeks," ANZ Research said.

Spot gold rose as oil prices eased and was last up 1.0% at $4,176.75 a troy ounce.

Sentiment in equity markets was mixed.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was recently down 0.7%, dragged by chip and metal stocks, and China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.2%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.1%. Markets in South Korea and Taiwan were closed.

Artificial intelligence- and chip-related stocks declined in Hong Kong, tracking the selloff in the U.S. as concerns over the sustainability of AI infrastructure spending resurfaced.

Maybank analysts said the Trump administration's move to suspend several tech companies, including Microsoft, from sponsoring workers for permanent U.S. residency also weighed on sentiment.

Hong Kong-listed Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor fell 6.45% and Z.AI lost 5.1%. Hua Hong Grace Semiconductor slumped 6.5% in Shanghai and 4.45% in Hong Kong.

Write to Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 09, 2026 00:11 ET (04:11 GMT)