TOKYO – Asian markets were mixed in quiet early trading Tuesday, as a recent rally lost momentum and investors weighed uncertainty surrounding diplomatic efforts to end the war in Iran.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.9% in morning trading, slipping to 71,681.29.
“We’ve had eight days of strong markets. The market was up for about 12.5%, and now it has cooled off a little bit,” said Neil Newman, managing director and head of strategy at Astris Advisory Japan.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up less than 0.1% in morning trade to 8,822.10. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 2.8% to 8,863.52. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.4% to 23,678.22, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.2% to 4,170.58.
On Wall Street, stocks ended Monday mixed as lower oil prices helped ease some pressure, while weakness in major technology shares weighed on the broader market.
The S&P 500 declined 0.4%, pulling back after gains in 11 of the past 12 weeks and leaving the index 1.8% below its record high reached earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 148 points, or 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite slid 1.3%.
Oil prices moved lower after weekend talks between the United States and Iran over the war. U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the discussions had established a “good foundation for a successful final deal.”
A resolution to the conflict could clear the way for oil tankers to move through the Strait of Hormuz and allow shipments from the Persian Gulf to fully resume. Iran’s military said Saturday it had again closed the strait, though U.S. Central Command has challenged that claim.
Early Tuesday, benchmark U.S. crude rose 35 cents to $74.21 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 23 cents to $78.13 a barrel.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.50% from 4.46%. Yields have been climbing because of speculation the Federal Reserve may hike interest rates this year to keep a lid on inflation, which has been accelerating because of expensive oil caused by the Iran war. Economists expect a report on Thursday to show a measure of inflation for U.S. consumers sped up to 4.1% in May from 3.8% in April.
SpaceX fell 16.4% to $154.60, the third straight drop for the company behind xAI since a big three-day run following its ballyhooed debut on the U.S. stock market, when it initially sold its stock at $135 per share.
The day’s heaviest weights on the S&P 500 included drops of 5% for Alphabet, 4.7% for Amazon and 4.5% for Broadcom.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 27.79 points to 7,472.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 148.01 to 51,712.71, and the Nasdaq composite fell 351.33 to 26,166.60.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 161.60 Japanese yen from 161.52 yen. The euro cost $1.1427, down from $1.1431.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe in New York and AP Senior Producer Mayuko Ono in Tokyo contributed to this report.
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