HONG KONG: Asian stocks and oil futures were mixed on Tuesday after fresh US strikes on Iran threatened fragile negotiations to reopen the Hormuz strait. The United States and Iran have been trying to broker a deal to end the Middle East war and reopen the crucial waterway since a fragile ceasefire came into force on April 8. Stocks had rallied on Monday and crude futures contracts dropped below $100 after reports suggesting a deal was on the cusp of being reached. But these hopes were dampened on Monday when US forces attacked missile sites in southern Iran and boats trying to lay mines. &quot;US forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,&quot; Tim Hawkins, a US Central Command spokesman, said in a statement. Both sides have played down chances of a quick deal to end the war that has driven up energy prices and fuelled global inflation. US President Donald Trump offered little certainty, saying on Monday that a deal with Tehran would either be &quot;great and meaningful&quot; or there would be &quot;no deal&quot; at all. Iran&#39;s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei confirmed progress had been made, but added a deal was not yet within reach. Top US diplomat Marco Rubio insisted on Tuesday that the blockaded strait would reopen &quot;one way or the other&quot;. Asian stocks showed a mixed picture in early trade, with Tokyo and Shanghai down around 0.5%. Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Sydney and Manila were also down. Seoul, however, was up more than 3%, opening at a new record high over 8,000, as chipmakers, carmakers and shipbuilders continued their strong gains. Hong Kong, Jakarta, Bangkok, Wellington and Taipei also climbed. Oil prices fluctuated on the geopolitical uncertainty, with US benchmark West Texas Intermediate down over 5%, and international benchmark North Sea Brent slightly up. &quot;The market&#39;s reaction remains almost mechanical at this point,&quot; said Stephen Innes, an analyst at SPI Asset Management. &quot;Every incremental diplomatic headline involving Iran gets treated like another liquidity injection directly into risk appetite. &quot;Yet beneath the surface, the actual negotiations still resemble two traders standing on opposite sides of the pit pretending the spread has narrowed while the hardest legs of the trade remain unresolved.&quot; Investors will be keeping an eye this week on how the US Federal Reserve reacts to key consumer inflation data and its potential effect on interest rates. Higher prices triggered by the US-Israeli war against Iran will limit the likelihood of interest rate cuts by the Fed to boost US growth, many economists have warned. &quot;Traders have already fully priced in another Federal Reserve rate hike by year&#39;s end, despite the arrival of Kevin Warsh as the new Fed chairman,&quot; Innes said. Russia&#39;s war against Ukraine has also injected more uncertainty, with Moscow saying on Monday it planned to launch more strikes on Kyiv following a major recent assault. Key figures at around 0230 GMT Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.0% at $98.11 a barrel West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 5.1% at $91.71 a barrel Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4% at 64,915.67 points Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4% at 4136.32 Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3% at 25,679.68 Euro/dollar: DOWN at 1.1634 from 1.1646 on Monday Pound/dollar: DOWN at 1.3487 from $1.3502 Dollar/yen: UP at 158.94 from 158.90 yen Euro/pound: UP at 86.26 from 86.25 pence London - FTSE 100: Closed for a holiday Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.8% at 8,258.26 (close) Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 2.0% at 25,389.10 (close) New York - DOW: Closed for a holiday

An electronic quotation board (L) displays the Nikkei Stock Average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange along a street in Tokyo on May 25, 2026. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

Business

Asian stocks and oil prices traded mixed as renewed US strikes on Iran disrupted hopes for a Hormuz Strait deal, keeping markets volatile amid geopolitical uncertainty.

Asia stocks, oil prices mixed on US-Iran deal uncertainty

&nbsp;CARACAS: A lingering smell of explosives hung over Venezuela&#39;s capital Caracas on Saturday as shocked residents took stock after an early-morning US strike that ousted strongman Nicolas Maduro. While a few hundred Maduro supporters gathered to clamor for his freedom, the streets were otherwise eerily quiet. &quot;I felt the explosions lift me out of bed. In that instant, I thought: &#39;My God, the day has come,&#39; and I cried,&quot; Maria Eugenia Escobar, a 58-year-old resident of the city of six million people, told AFP. The strikes started around 2:00 am local time, with dozens of detonations that some people at first mistook for fireworks. Windows rattled from the shockwaves, and residents rushed out onto terraces and balconies as military aircraft zoomed overhead. &quot;It was horrible, we felt the planes flying over our house,&quot; said a resident of the Coche neighborhood, near the city&#39;s largest military complex, which was targeted in the raid. Residents saw columns of smoke rising from several parts of the city, which was soon cloaked in a fog-like haze. Witnesses spoke of bombings in La Guaira, Caracas&#39;s airport and port, in Maracay to the west, and in Higuerote to the east. &#39;Absurd!&nbsp;In the aftermath, Venezuelans soon learned their long-ruling leader, Maduro, was out. US special forces seized Maduro and took him to face trial in New York. A few hundred supporters gathered in Caracas to demand news of their leader&#39;s fate. &quot;Long live Nicolas Maduro,&quot; echoed a rally cry from a hastily erected stage with speakers blaring revolutionary music. &quot;Long live!&quot; responded the crowd. Katia Briceno, a 54-year-old university professor, came out to protest against what she described as the US &#39;barbarism.&#39; &quot;How is it that a foreign government comes into the country and removes the president? It&#39;s absurd!&quot; she told AFP. Apart from the protesters, there were few Venezuelans out, and just occasional cars on the usually bustling streets. Those who did venture out did so under the watchful eye of black-clad agents patrolling the center with long guns. Many stores were closed after the attack, while queues formed at others that were letting people in a few at a time. Damage from the explosions was mostly limited to military installations, where vehicles stood riddled by bullets, others smouldering and charred. Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino Lopez accused the US forces of attacking civilian areas with missiles and rockets fired from combat helicopters. President Donald Trump said no US soldiers died in Saturday&#39;s strikes, but the toll on the Venezuelan side remained unknown. For residents of Caracas, the future is uncertain. Trump said he was &quot;not afraid of boots on the ground&quot; and mooted the possibility of a &quot;much bigger&quot; second wave of strikes if necessary. He also said the United States will &#39;run&#39; Venezuela until a political transition occurs. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado insists Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, whom the opposition says won elections in July 2024 in which Maduro claimed victory, &quot;must immediately assume his constitutional mandate&quot; as president. Trump appeared to scotch any expectation that Machado herself might emerge as Venezuela&#39;s new leader. She does not have &#39;support or respect&#39; there, he said. Trump indicated he could instead work with Maduro&#39;s deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, saying &quot;she&#39;s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.&quot; Neighboring Colombia was reinforcing its border with Venezuela, using tanks and armed soldiers who normally fight guerrillas to secure the frontier. Colombian security forces deployed at the main border crossings on the orders of leftist President Gustavo Petro, who has clashed with Trump over his months-long military buildup in the region. Petro&#39;s government has warned of a potential humanitarian crisis with migrants pouring over the border from Venezuela. However, on the Simon Bolivar bridge in Villa del Rosaria, the main crossing point, the number of people walking across on Saturday was far below normal.

File: Miraflores Palace In Caracas, Venezuela (Wikimedia Commons) 

Americas

Caracas lay eerily quiet after early-morning US strikes ousted President Nicolas Maduro. Explosions hit military sites, sparked protests and uncertainty, prompted border tensions with Colombia, and raised fears of US intervention.

Articles tagged with "US strikes"

Asia stocks, oil prices mixed on US-Iran deal uncertainty

Venezuelan capital quiet, streets empty after US strike

Asia stocks, oil prices mixed on US-Iran deal uncertainty