Asian shares gain and oil prices push higher as Israel-Iran crisis escalates
HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares rose Monday and oil prices extended gains on worries that escalating Iran-Israel tensions could disrupt the flow of crude around the world.
U.S. benchmark crude oil added 71 cents to $73.69 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 58 cents to $74.81 per barrel.
In share trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 added 1.3% to 38,311.33, while the Kospi in Seoul gained 1.8% to 2,946.66.
Chinese markets gained after data for May showed stronger consumer spending but weaker factory activity and investment. A 6.1% year-on-year jump in retail sales was offset but lower than expected growth in industrial output, which rose 5.8% from a year earlier.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 0.8% to 24,080.61 and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.3% to 3,388.73.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed at 8,548.40.
On Friday, oil prices jumped and stocks slumped after Israel’s attack on Iranian nuclear and military targets.
The S&P 500 sank 1.1% to 5,976.97. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.8% to 42,197.79, and the Nasdaq composite lost 1.3% to 19,406.83.
The strongest action was in the oil market, where the price of a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude and Brent crude, the international standard surged more than 7%.
Iran is one of the world’s major producers of oil, though sanctions by Western countries have limited its sales. If a wider war erupts, it could slow the flow of Iran’s oil to its customers and keep the price of crude and gasoline higher for everyone worldwide.
Beyond the oil coming from Iran, analysts also pointed to the potential for disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a relatively narrow waterway off Iran’s coast. Much of the world’s oil that’s been pulled from the ground moves through it on ships.
Companies that use a lot of fuel as part of their business and need their customers feeling confident enough to travel suffered some of the sharpest losses. Cruise operator Carnival dropped 4.9%. United Airlines sank 4.4%, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings fell 5%.
They helped overshadow gains for U.S. oil producers and other companies that could benefit from increased fighting between Israel and Iran.
Exxon Mobil rose 2.2%, and ConocoPhillips gained 2.4% because the leaping price of crude portends bigger profits for them.
Contractors that make weapons and defense equipment also rallied. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and RTX all rose more than 3%.
The price of gold climbed as investors searched for safer places to park their cash. An ounce of gold added 1.4% on Friday and was holding steady early Monday.
Prices for Treasury bonds will likewise rise when investors are feeling nervous, but Treasury prices fell Friday, which in turn pushed up their yields, in part because of worries that a spike in oil prices could drive inflation higher.
Inflation has remained relatively tame recently, and it’s near the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%, but worries are high that it could be set to accelerate because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
A better-than-expected report Friday on sentiment among U.S. consumers also helped drive yields higher. The preliminary report from the University of Michigan said sentiment improved for the first time in six months after Trump put many of his tariffs on pause, while U.S. consumers’ expectations for coming inflation eased.
In currency trading early Monday, the U.S. dollar gained to 144.34 Japanese yen from 144.03 yen. The euro rose to $1.1582 from $1.1533.