United News of Bangladesh

Asian stock markets moved higher on Friday after modest gains on Wall Street, while oil prices continued to rise as uncertainty surrounding the Iran war persisted and diplomatic efforts showed little progress. Oil prices had dropped slightly in US trading on Thursday, helping ease pressure on global bond markets as Treasury yields fell. Earlier this week, rising yields had raised concerns about slower global economic growth and weaker demand for stocks, bitcoin and other investments. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.7% to 63,352.44 after data showed inflation slowed to a four-year low of 1.4% in April, despite higher fuel costs linked to the war. South Korea’s Kospi index gained 0.6% to 7,860.59. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 1.2% to 25,685.65, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index added 0.5% to 4,096.24. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.5% to 8,664.00. Taiwan’s Taiex climbed 1.5%, while India’s Sensex edged up 0.2%. Oil prices remained high due to concerns over disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil and gas shipments. Shipping activity in the area remains far below levels seen before the Iran war began in late February. Ongoing talks between the United States and Iran have also failed to provide clarity. Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress faced difficulties on Thursday in gathering enough support to block legislation that would force President Donald Trump to pull the US out of the conflict. Votes on the issue have now been pushed back to June. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 1.5% to $104.08 per barrel. Before the war started in February, it was trading around $70 per barrel. US benchmark crude gained 0.9% to $97.25 per barrel. “Markets are still looking for signs of progress in possible US-Iran negotiations,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey said in a note Friday. “There are some hopeful signs, but uncertainty still dominates.” On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 7,445.72 on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% to 50,285.66, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.1% to 26,293.10. Shares of Nvidia fell 1.8% despite reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings driven by demand for artificial intelligence technology. Some analysts said the company’s stock may still be undervalued. Southwest Airlines rose 2.7% and American Airlines gained 4.9% after oil prices briefly eased before climbing again. Shares of Ralph Lauren surged 13.9% following better-than-expected quarterly results. In currency trading early Friday, the yield on the US 10-year Treasury note stood at 4.56%, down from above 4.67% earlier this week when inflation concerns linked to the war pushed yields sharply higher. The US dollar rose slightly to 159.02 Japanese yen from 158.98 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1613 from $1.1619.