Seoul Gazette - Oil prices slump as US and Iran pause strikes

International benchmark Brent fell more than four percent to $87 a barrel as the US and Iran held their fire, handing Gulf shipping and the oil industry a respite.

Donald Trump was "giving talks some space", said the US president's UN envoy.

The United States and Iran resumed hostilities this month, breaking a fragile truce, after the Islamic Republic attacked ships passing through Omani waters in the Strait of Hormuz, sparking a pattern of escalation.

Crude prices soared on the flare-up, with Brent breaking back above $100 a barrel last week for the first time since May.

"Although the situation in the Middle East has calmed, it has not been resolved, and it could make a decline below $85 per barrel tricky at this stage," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading group.

David Morrison at Trade Nation said that "investors are hoping that this could be a precursor to a resumption in peace talks".

The calmer situation eased worries about a resurgence in inflation and a fresh round of interest rate hikes, helping lift equity markets Monday.

Wall Street opened higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq rising 1.6 percent as most of the Magnificent Seven tech stocks that include Alphabet, Amazon and Apple posted gains.

In Europe, Frankfurt jumped more than 1.6 percent, while London and Paris also gained in afternoon deals.

The US Federal Reserve is expected to stand pat on interest rates on Wednesday, with the Bank of England set to follow suit Thursday.

"Policymakers face a difficult trade-off between evidence that inflation had been moderating and growing signs that higher oil prices could create a more persistent inflation shock," said Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank.

In Asian stock market trading, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai all advanced.

Traders are awaiting also earnings from South Korea's SK hynix and Samsung and Japan's Kioxia this week, while US titans Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Amazon are due to update, with focus on their outlooks and spending plans.

The share price of China's leading memory chipmaker, CXMT, rocketed more than 500 percent on its market debut in Shanghai to become the mainland's most valuable company, before later paring the gains to end up 465 percent.

The breathtaking surge came after the Anhui-based company had raised $9.8 billion in a blockbuster initial public offering, Bloomberg News reported, making it China's biggest mainland tech share sale.

- Key figures around 1330 GMT -

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 4.7 percent at $87.33 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 5.5 percent at $84.42 a barrel

New York - Dow: UP 1.0 percent at 52,446.28 points

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.8 percent at 7,468.90

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 25,237.70

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 10,785.76

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 8,434.05

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.6 percent at 25,490.35

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 64,931.19 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.0 percent at 25,207.18 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.2 percent at 3,858.24 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1381 from $1.1373 on Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3318 from $1.3323

Euro/pound: UP at 85.47 pence from 85.34 pence

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 163.71 yen from 163.84

Z.Ryu--SG