By Ronnie Harui
Oil retreated while Asian equity markets rose Wednesday on hopes of a resolution to the Middle East conflict.
President Trump said Tuesday that Iran wants to "make a deal" and the U.S. has sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war, which centers largely around previous Trump administration demands of Tehran.
Iranian representatives have let the Trump administration know they have a high bar for re-entering negotiations for a cease-fire deal.
A key sticking point is the unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz, a route for a significant amount of the world's oil and gas. The normalization of flows through the shipping lane would be a major relief for economies that are worrying about running out of fuel, though it remains unclear if progress is being made on that front.
In a post on X, Iran's mission to the United Nations said that "non-hostile" vessels can pass through the Strait of Hormuz "in coordination with the competent Iranian authorities."
The Iran mission said the vessels could travel the strait if they "neither participate in nor support acts of aggression against Iran" and comply with safety and security regulations.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell 5.4% to $87.39 a barrel in Asia morning trade, and front-month Brent crude oil futures dropped 6.5% to $97.72 a barrel, ICE data showed.
There seems to be renewed optimism about de-escalation in the Middle East, XS.com's Antonio Di Giacomo said in an email. "Even so, the lack of clarity about the negotiations' actual progress keeps investors cautious," the senior market analyst added.
Asian equity markets rose amid improving risk sentiment.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was up 3.0%, South Korea's Kospi added 3.2%, and Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index was 0.5% higher.
U.S. stock futures also advanced, with eMini S&P 500 futures 0.8% higher, eMini Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.9%, and eMini Dow futures gaining 0.9%.
Progress on cease-fire talks aimed at ending the war could restore the global economic recovery scenario for financial markets, Naka Matsuzawa at Nomura said in a research report.
Write to Ronnie Harui at ronnie.harui@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 24, 2026 21:46 ET (01:46 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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