Oil Prices Jump Over 3% as Hopes for End of US-Iran War Fade... Unstoppable Rally in Asia

Brent Crude Returns to the $104 Range

U.S. Stock Futures Mixed... Only Nasdaq Up

Asia Maintains Rally Led by KOSPI

With the possibility of a peace agreement between the United States and Iran fading, Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, once again approached $105. However, Asian stock markets continued their record-high rally, buoyed by technology stocks, despite the heightened geopolitical crisis.

On the 8th (local time), a trader is watching the stock market screen at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Photo by EPA Yonhap News.

According to CNBC, on the 10th (local time) at the ICE Futures Exchange, July delivery Brent crude oil futures were trading at $104.48, up 3.15% from the previous session during intraday trading. This marks the first time Brent crude returned to the $104 range since the 6th. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June delivery also rose 3.11% to $98.43.

The market was shaken as hopes for the end of the United States-Iran war, which have lasted for ten consecutive weeks, diminished. U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Iran’s proposal was “completely unacceptable.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also fueled anxiety by warning in an interview that the war with Iran is “not over.”

Due to increased demand for safe-haven assets, the value of the dollar rebounded slightly. The dollar-yen exchange rate rose 0.2% to 156.88 yen during trading, while the euro fell 0.2% to $1.1760. Foreign media pointed out that last week’s strong U.S. employment figures have led to expectations that the Federal Reserve will maintain its benchmark interest rate for the time being.

Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures, which indicate the market’s direction, showed mixed movements. Dow Jones futures and S&P 500 futures were down 0.35% and 0.17%, respectively, while Nasdaq futures, focused on technology stocks, edged up 0.07%. Although a rise in international oil prices is generally considered a negative factor for the stock market, strong corporate earnings and robust employment data—both of which fueled last week’s record-setting rally—are still being highly reflected in market sentiment. Last week, all three major U.S. indices reached new all-time highs.

Asian markets were also on the rise. The MSCI Asia Index climbed 1%. The main driver was the KOSPI index, which started the day up 3.70% at 7,775.31 and surpassed the 7,800 mark immediately after the opening, hitting a new record high. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indices were also up 0.95% and 0.86%, respectively, during intraday trading.

The virtual asset market also showed a modest upward trend. According to CoinMarketCap, a global virtual asset data site, the price of Bitcoin was trading at $81,299 around 10 a.m. on the 11th (Korea Standard Time), up 0.83% from 24 hours earlier. This represents an increase of 3.64% from a week ago and 11.63% from a month ago. Other major altcoins by market capitalization—Ethereum (up 1.06%), Ripple (XRP) (up 2.78%), and BNB (up 1.61%)—were also strong.

Bloomberg News pointed out that the artificial intelligence (AI) boom is a key factor behind the strength of Asian stock markets despite the surge in international oil prices. The analysis is that, even as Middle East tensions have risen again, buying interest in technology stocks remains strong. Anna Wu, a multi-asset strategist at VanEck, said, “Investors are refocusing on earnings after the peak of war fears. Unless there is a large-scale escalation, the market will gradually begin to overlook the current war-related volatility.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.