Most of the Asian stocks except that of China rose on Tuesday after the markets re-opened from the Easter break. The oil prices reached its highest in 6 months as there were oil supply worries due to sanctions on Iran by the US.
In the markets
Stock
The MSCI Asia-Pacific shares broadest index rose by 0.1%; the Hang Send increased by 0.2%, Kospi of South Korea was up by 0.2%. Japan’s Nikkei was flat, Australia’s ASX 200 rose by 1%, Indonesia, Taiwan and Thailand shares all increased. Singapore shares recorded a fall, and so did the Shanghai Composite with a fall of 0.1%. The Chinese stocks fell as there were reports that President Xi Jinping raised questions about the stimulus but was inclined to tweak the monetary policy.
In Wall Street, the energy stocks saw a rise as the oil prices increases. The S&P 500 increased by 0.1%, the Dow fell by 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose by 0.2%.
Currencies
The dollar was down by 0.1% against the yen and was at $111.82 for a yen. The dollar index rose by 0.2% against the basket of major currencies and was at 97.303. The Canadian dollar increased by 0.4% as oil is among the major products exported by the country and was at $1.3359. The euro was flat and was at $1.1252, but the ruble currency of Russia reached its highest against the euro due to an oil price hike.
Commodities
The oil prices saw a rise for three consecutive days, and the US crude was at $66.04 for a barrel adding 49 cents. Brent crude added 45 cents to its earlier tally and was at $75.50 for a barrel a jump of $2.07 from its earlier $74.04 for a barrel.
The Trump administration said that it would end waiver for countries that import oil from Iran, the US government had offered waivers to countries like India, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, etc. and is set to expire on May 2. If the waivers are taken off and the sanctions are re-imposed Iran’s economy will be derailed and will be dented by more than $50 billion. It impacts not only Iran but also the international oil market as the sanctions will cut oil supplies by about 1.2 million barrels per day. It is now dependent on how countries respond to the sanctions.
Investors are still optimistic that inflation will be contained in major economies like the US.
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