Asia-Pacific markets were volatile on Tuesday, with major indexes sliding into losses in morning trading as traders weighed events related to the war in Iran.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to target Iran’s civilian infrastructure if a peace deal is not reached in less than 24 hours, while signaling that Iran’s leadership is serious about negotiations.
Trump repeated his demand that Iran open the Strait of Hormuz by 8pm on Tuesday, which would allow traffic to flow again through the vital route for global energy supplies – warning that the US would destroy every bridge and power plant within four hours if the deadline was not met.
The US and Iran are discussing an outline plan to end the five-week conflict, with Tehran resisting Trump’s push to quickly reopen the Strait of Hormuz with a temporary ceasefire and reiterating its demand for a permanent end to the war.
Iran rejected the U.S. ceasefire proposal and presented its own 10 points, including an end to hostilities in the region, a protocol for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the lifting of sanctions and reconstruction, according to Axios.
Trump responded to the proposal by saying they “made a … significant proposal. It’s not good enough, but they’ve taken a very significant step. We’ll see what happens.”
West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 3.4% at $116.2 a barrel at 12:28 a.m. ET. Brent crude was up about 1.7% at $111.59 a barrel.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.4%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.17%, reversing modest gains earlier in trading, while the broad-based Topix was unchanged. South Korea’s blue-chip Kospi was flat, while small-cap Kosdaq extended losses to 1.5%, SEEbiz reports.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 0.29% and Hong Kong markets remained closed on Tuesday for the Easter holiday.
India’s Nifty 50 and Sensex were down 0.5% in early trade, following choppy trading in other Asian markets.
“As the deadline approaches, [Trump] he wants to apply even more pressure to get them there,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management.
However, sharp changes in the markets caused by the headlines created opportunities for investors to rearrange their portfolios for longer-term returns, Jacobsen said. “When geopolitical concerns hit the market, it tends to move prices indiscriminately. That’s when a discerning investor can upgrade their portfolio.”
