Global oil prices rise, stock markets fall after Trump address

VIA BBC NEWS:

Trump’s address appears to have done nothing to reassure global oil markets that disruption to the key Strait of Hormuz shipping route will ease anytime soon.

The price of benchmark Brent crude was trading at about $100 a barrel before the president started speaking.

It fluctuated during the address but is now heading higher and is currently up by around 4% at $105.38.

The strait is crucial to the global economy as around 20% of the world’s energy usually passes through the narrow shipping lane.

It has been effectively shut since the conflict started on 28 February as Iran retaliated to US and Israeli airstrikes by threatening to attack ships using the waterway.

US stock market futures fall

While global oil markets are rising in reaction to Trump’s address, US stock futures are falling – pointing to a lower open for Wall Street on Thursday morning.

Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures are around 0.7% lower, while Nasdaq futures are down by about 1%.

Stock market futures are contracts that allow investors to buy or sell a stock index at a set price on a future date.

They function as a bet on which direction investors expect the market to head, with prices reflecting market sentiment.

Asia stock markets fall

Major stock indexes in Asia are trading lower after Trump’s address, reversing earlier gains.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan is down by 1.5%, South Korea’s Kospi is 2.6% lower and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong is 1% lower.

The region’s stock markets have been volatile since the Iran war started at the end of February.

Asia is particularly vulnerable to the impact of the conflict as it is heavily reliant on the Middle East for its energy supplies.