Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Thursday after Iran signaled it had no intention of holding direct talks with the United States, even as Tehran reconsidered a US proposal to end the war, according to the Islamic Republic’s foreign minister.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the exchange of messages between the two countries through intermediaries “does not mean negotiations with the US,” Reuters reported.
Earlier on Wednesday, Iranian state media reported that the country would reject a US ceasefire offer and put forward its own terms to end the war.
Thierry Wizman, global FX and interest rate strategist at Macquarie Group, said a ceasefire was not imminent.
“Intensification of U.S. military action as it tries to push Iran into major concessions is more likely in the next two weeks, before major combat operations take off, perhaps in mid-April,” Wizman said.
“The war may now enter its third phase of ‘talk and fight,’ instead of just talking or just fighting,” he wrote in a note, according to SEEbiz.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.28%, while the Topix rose 0.43%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.55% and Kosdaq, a small-cap stock, added 0.18%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.52%, while the CSI 300 opened unchanged.
Oil prices were steady during Asian trading. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.72% to $91 a barrel.
