Asian Stocks Rise, Oil Eases on Hopes for Iran Conflict Resolution — Update

By Sherry Qin and Kimberley Kao

Oil fell and Asian equities rose Tuesday after President Trump's comments on the Iran war boosted optimism, prompting investors to shrug off last week's market selloff and Nvidia's suspected spy scandal.

Risk sentiment rebounded as tentative signs of diplomatic progress between the U.S. and Iran helped restore a more positive tone, said Westpac analyst Ryan Wells in a note.

Trump held a closed-door meeting at the White House on Monday with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani to discuss Qatar's mediation efforts.

"We are seeing positive momentum toward an end to this Conflict, and will ensure that America's interests are at all times protected," Trump said in a post on Truth Social after the meeting.

Trump added that he had "an excellent conversation" with the prime minister, a key mediator in the Iran war, and said further strikes "seem to be quite unlikely" though the U.S. is "'locked and loaded' and ready to go."

With Trump signaling little appetite for further escalation, the most likely scenario remains the status quo, ANZ Research analysts said in a note. The constraints already confronting the market could persist broadly through year-end: the Strait of Hormuz continues to operate below normal capacity, tanker availability remains tight and freight stays elevated, the analysts added.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate futures extended declines in Asian trading, shedding 0.9% to $86.08 a barrel after falling below $90 a barrel overnight. Front-month Brent futures were 0.8% lower at $91.83 a barrel.

Asian airline stocks rallied on prospects of lower jet-fuel costs. In South Korea, shares in the country's flag carrier Korean Air Lines and its budget-airline affiliate Jin Air ended 12% and 30% higher, respectively. China's top three carriers also got a boost in Hong Kong trading, with Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines jumping 6.7%, 8.6% and 7.9% respectively.

Meanwhile, energy stocks fell on lower oil prices, with China's largest oil companies Cnooc, PetroChina and Sinopec slipping 3.1%, 3.4% and 1.0%, respectively, in Hong Kong.

The combination of easing energy prices and a softer U.S. dollar will remain broadly supportive for Asian currencies, MUFG's Lloyd Chan wrote in a note.

The Indian rupee has been a key beneficiary, strengthening on lower oil prices and returning foreign equity inflows, with the dollar recently falling to a multimonth low of 94 rupees, Chan said.

More broadly, regional markets rallied following Wall Street's gains overnight, with chip-related suppliers shrugging off concerns around Nvidia as the company's board launches an independent investigation into whether Chief Executive Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort. That sent Nvidia's shares 4% lower on Monday.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi gained 4.4%, driven by the country's chip heavyweights. Kospi futures climbed more than 5% in early trading, which triggered a five-minute trading halt. SK Hynix ended 6.7% higher and Samsung Electronics added 4.7%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average advanced 2.9% and Taiwan's Taiex rose 2.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.4% and the Hang Seng Tech Index rose 1.2%.

Dip buyers likely stepped in to stem the bleeding from last week's brutal technology rout, said Tickmill Group's Patrick Munnelly.

The market is still navigating a three-pronged overhang despite the latest gains: continued derisking from the crowded AI trade, skepticism over massive AI investment, and prospective regulatory headwinds from a Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress, he added.

Write to Sherry Qin at sherry.qin@wsj.com and Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 10, 2026 02:23 ET (07:23 GMT)