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Oil prices rose further Wednesday on the political instability in major crude producer Iran and the possibility of a US intervention, which also helped push safe-haven gold to a new record high while weighing on the dollar.Wall Street’s main stock indices fell despite US retail sales posting a higher-than-expected 0.6 percent increase in November and several major US banks beating earnings expectations.”Things are looking a little softer at the moment, reflecting a heightened sense of uncertainty in the air,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.”Some of that uncertainty revolves around the path of monetary policy after this morning’s economic data worked against the notion of needing to cut rates again soon,” he noted.Recent data has indicated the US economy continues to hum, the labour market has not seen a major degradation and inflation is holding at a moderate level above the US Federal Reserve’s target.The Fed has tipped it would probably wait to make further cuts in interest rates, and most investors expect it will likely hold off for several months.O’Hare also pointed to traders waiting for a possible US Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday on the legality of US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.A ruling against the government would prove a temporary setback to its economic and fiscal plans, though officials have said that tariffs can be reimposed by other means.Meanwhile, China said its trade last year reached a “new historical high”, surpassing 45 trillion yuan ($6.4 trillion) for the first time.Global demand for Chinese goods has held firm despite a slump in exports to the United States after Trump hiked tariffs.Other trade partners more than filled the gap, increasing Chinese exports overall by 5.5 percent in 2025.”We expect this resilience to continue through 2026,” said Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics.Much attention among traders remained on Iran, with Tehran warning it was capable of responding to any US attack, as Washington appeared to be pulling personnel out of a base that Iran targeted in a strike last year.”Traders are closely watching the political unrest in Iran and possible US intervention, which could threaten disruption to the country’s… oil production,” said Helge Andre Martinsen, senior energy analyst at DNB Carnegie.In European stocks trading London set a fresh all-time high thanks to gains in mining stocks, but Frankfurt and Paris slid lower. Asian stock markets mostly gained.Tokyo shares jumped by 1.5 percent while the yen slumped to its lowest value since mid-2024 amid media reports that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi planned to hold an election as soon as February 8.Takaichi’s cabinet — riding high in opinion polls — has approved a record 122.3-trillion-yen ($768 billion) budget for the fiscal year from April 2026.She has vowed to get parliamentary approval as soon as possible to address inflation and shore up the world’s fourth-largest economy.”We are seeing a shift in sentiment that could see European and Asian equities gain ground on their US counterparts,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.On the corporate front, British energy giant BP revealed a write-down of up to $5 billion linked to its energy transition efforts that will be reflected in the company’s upcoming annual results.Its share price traded lower most of the day but closed the day with a gain of 1.5 percent.- Key figures at around 1630 GMT -Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.8 percent at $65.96 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $61.35 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 49,124.17 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.7 percent at 6,917.81New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.1 percent at 23,440.38London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 10,184.35 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,330.97 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 25,286.24 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.5 percent at 54,341.23 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.6 percent at 26,999.81 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 4,126.09 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1656 from $1.1643 on TuesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3448 from $1.3426Dollar/yen: DOWN at 158.25 yen from 159.15 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.66 pence from 86.71 penceburs-rl/cw

A Dutch court held hearings Wednesday to weigh whether to order an investigation into Nexperia, a Chinese-owned chip company at the centre of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology.The firm, based in the Netherlands but whose parent company is China’s Wingtech, has been the subject of a standoff between Beijing and the West that threatened to cripple car manufacturers that rely on its chips.The Dutch state in September invoked a 1952 law to effectively seize control of the company, sparking fury in Beijing.The Amsterdam-based Enterprise Chamber also played a major part in the battle over Nexperia in October when it suspended the firm’s Chinese CEO, Zhang Xuezheng, also known as Wing, citing concerns over his management.Lawyers for Nexperia on Wednesday accused Wingtech of a “scorched earth” policy in its bid to wrest control of the company.”Wingtech is doing everything to destabilise Nexperia, already under pressure from a crisis situation,” said one of Nexperia’s lawyers, Jeroen van der Schrieck.- ‘Mystery’ -Zhang Xuezheng did not appear at the hearings. His lawyer said he was not in a strong enough state to attend, as this case was taking a personal toll on him.”The intervention (by the Dutch government) and especially the way it was handled, is incomprehensible for Mr Wing,” said Jan Bart van de Hel, a lawyer for the Chinese tycoon.”It should never have happened. The situation degenerated needlessly,” he added.Dirk-Jan Duynstee, a lawyer for the Wingtech company, said “the real reasons that led the minister to intervene remain a mystery.” Judges said they expected to issue a ruling on whether to order an investigation within four weeks at the latest.The court could order an investigation “if it has valid reasons to doubt the sound policy and business operations at Nexperia”, it said in a statement.If the court does decide to order an investigation, it can also maintain or amend its decisions made in October.If however the court decides no investigation is required, the decisions it made in October will no longer be in force.In late October, following trade talks between China’s President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump, Beijing agreed to resume exports of Nexperia chips halted over the row.In response, the Dutch government said it was suspending its emergency takeover move as a “constructive step” hailed by Beijing.But while the political clash has died down for the moment, all eyes are on the court to see whether it will order a probe.

Oil prices rose further Wednesday on the political instability in major crude producer Iran, which also helped push safe-haven gold to a new record high while weighing on the dollar.Wall Street’s main stock indices fell at the start of trading despite US retail sales posting a higher-than-expected 0.6 percent increase in November and several major US banks beating earnings expectation.”Things are looking a little softer at the moment, reflecting a heightened sense of uncertainty in the air,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.”Some of that uncertainty revolves around the path of monetary policy after this morning’s economic data worked against the notion of needing to cut rates again soon,” he noted.Recent data has indicated the US economy continues to hum, the labour market has not seen a major degradation and inflation is holding at a moderate level above the US Federal Reserve’s target.The Fed has tipped it would probably wait to make further cuts in interest rates, and most investors expect it will likely hold off for several months.O’Hare also pointed to traders waiting for a possible US Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday on the legality of US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.A ruling against the government would prove a temporary setback to its economic and fiscal plans, though officials have said that tariffs can be reimposed by other means.Meanwhile, China said its trade last year reached a “new historical high”, surpassing 45 trillion yuan ($6.4 trillion) for the first time.Global demand for Chinese goods has held firm despite a slump in exports to the United States after Trump hiked tariffs.Other trade partners more than filled the gap, increasing Chinese exports overall by 5.5 percent in 2025.”We expect this resilience to continue through 2026,” said Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics.Much attention among traders remained on Iran, where a funeral ceremony began in Tehran on Wednesday for over 100 members of the security forces and other “martyrs” killed in the wave of protests, state television said.”Traders are closely watching the political unrest in Iran and possible US intervention, which could threaten disruption to the country’s… oil production,” said Helge Andre Martinsen, senior energy analyst at DNB Carnegie.European and Asian stock markets mostly gained.Tokyo shares jumped by 1.5 percent while the yen slumped to its lowest value since mid-2024 amid media reports that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi planned to hold an election as soon as February 8.Takaichi’s cabinet — riding high in opinion polls — has approved a record 122.3-trillion-yen ($768 billion) budget for the fiscal year from April 2026.She has vowed to get parliamentary approval as soon as possible to address inflation and shore up the world’s fourth-largest economy.”We are seeing a shift in sentiment that could see European and Asian equities gain ground on their US counterparts,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.On the corporate front, British energy giant BP revealed a write-down of up to $5 billion linked to its energy transition efforts that will be reflected in the company’s upcoming annual results.Its share price was down 0.9 percent in London.- Key figures at around 1430 GMT -Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.9 percent at $66.05 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.8 percent at $61.39 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 49,167.97 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 6,935.76New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 23,554.20London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 10,167.96 Paris – CAC 40: UP less than 0.1 percent at 8,353.59Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 25,305.19Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.5 percent at 54,341.23 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.6 percent at 26,999.81 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 4,126.09 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1655 from $1.1643 on TuesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3456 from $1.3426Dollar/yen: DOWN at 158.27 yen from 159.15 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.63 pence from 86.71 penceburs-rl/js

A Dutch court held hearings Wednesday to weigh whether to order an investigation into Nexperia, a Chinese-owned chip company at the centre of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology.The firm, based in the Netherlands but whose parent company is China’s Wingtech, has been the subject of a standoff between Beijing and the West that threatened to cripple car manufacturers that rely on its chips.The Dutch state in September invoked a 1952 law to effectively seize control of the company, sparking fury in Beijing.The Amsterdam-based Enterprise Chamber also played a major part in the battle over Nexperia in October when it suspended the firm’s Chinese CEO, Zhang Xuezheng, also known as Wing, citing concerns over his management.Lawyers for Nexperia on Wednesday accused Wingtech of a “scorched earth” policy in its bid to wrest control of the company.”Wingtech is doing everything to destabilise Nexperia, already under pressure from a crisis situation,” said one of Nexperia’s lawyers, Jeroen van der Schrieck.Zhang Xuezheng did not appear at the hearings. His lawyer said he was not in a strong enough state to attend, as this case was having a personal effect on him.His lawyers are to respond later Wednesday.Judges are not expected to make a ruling on Wednesday on whether to order an investigation but may announce a date for a decision.The court could order an investigation “if it has valid reasons to doubt the sound policy and business operations at Nexperia”, it said in a statement.If the court does decide to order an investigation, it can also maintain or amend its decisions made in October.If however the court decides no investigation is required, the decisions it made in October will no longer be in force.In late October, following trade talks between China’s President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump, Beijing agreed to resume exports of Nexperia chips halted over the row.In response, the Dutch government said it was suspending its emergency takeover move as a “constructive step” hailed by Beijing.But while the political clash has died down for the moment, all eyes are on the court to see whether it will order a probe.

Asian markets largely rose on Wednesday as speculation about a snap election in Japan pushed up Tokyo shares, and oil prices dipped after a surge fuelled by instability in Iran.Metals added to their recent gains to hit new record highs, with silver up more than four percent, partly propelled by the prospect of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve this year.Tokyo closed 1.5 percent higher and the yen slumped to its lowest value since mid-2024 as media reports said Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi planned to hold an election as soon as February 8.Takaichi’s cabinet — riding high in opinion polls — has approved a record 122.3-trillion-yen ($768 billion) budget for the fiscal year from April 2026.She has vowed to get parliamentary approval as soon as possible to address inflation and shore up the world’s fourth-largest economy.Hong Kong closed up 0.6 percent while Shanghai dipped 0.3 percent after Beijing said trade last year reached a “new historical high”, surpassing 45 trillion yuan ($6.4 trillion) for the first time.Global demand for Chinese goods has held firm despite a slump in exports to the United States after President Donald Trump hiked tariffs.Other trade partners more than filled the gap, increasing Chinese exports overall by 5.5 percent in 2025.”We expect this resilience to continue through 2026,” said Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics, in a note.London, Frankfurt and Paris saw marginal gains at the open.- Tariff ruling -“One risk to the export outlook is that the trade truce with the US doesn’t last,” Huang added, referring to a detente that Washington and Beijing reached last year after a major escalation.”Trump’s threat to impose a 25 percent tariff on countries doing business with Iran underscores the potential for renewed trade tensions.”Sydney, Seoul, Taipei, Wellington, Jakarta, Bangkok and Manila were all in the green, while Mumbai, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur were down.Gold spot hit a record high and silver topped $90 an ounce for the first time, partly on the shock news that prosecutors have reopened a probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.”Continued attacks on Fed independence and Trump’s proclivity to push for lower rates is another key reason behind our view and we forecast US Fed funds rates to fall below three percent” by the third quarter, said analyst Michael Wan at MUFG.Trump’s warning of “very strong action” if Iranian authorities hang protesters has also contributed to a tense geopolitical backdrop.Oil prices were lower after an overnight surge as the US president announced steep tariffs on anyone trading with Iran, sparking expectations that the threat will restrict supplies of crude.International outrage has built over the crackdown that a rights group said has likely killed thousands during protests posing one of the biggest challenges yet to Iran’s clerical leadership.Traders will also be keeping an eye on a possible US Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday on the legality of Trump’s sweeping tariffs.A ruling against the government would prove a temporary setback to its economic and fiscal plans, although officials have noted that tariffs can be reimposed by other means.- Key figures at around 0815 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.5 percent at 54,341.23 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.6 percent at 26,999.81 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 4,126.09 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1645 from $1.1643 on TuesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3440 from $1.3426Dollar/yen: FLAT at 159.15 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.64 pence from 86.71 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.8 percent at $60.66 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.8 percent at $64.96 per barrelLondon – FTSE 100: UP at 10,164.74New York – Dow: DOWN 0.8 percent at 49,191.99 (close)

China reported strong trade numbers for 2025 on Wednesday, as its surplus rose year-on-year to a record $1.2 trillion despite a slump in exports to the United States after President Donald Trump hiked tariffs.Last year’s bruising trade war between Washington and Beijing — which at one point saw reciprocal tariffs in the triple digits — led to a 20 percent plunge year-on-year in China’s exports to the United States, with imports falling 14.6 percent.But other trade partners more than filled the gap, increasing Chinese exports overall by 5.5 percent in 2025, while imports stayed flat in dollar terms.Shipments to the ASEAN group of Southeast Asian nations rose 13.4 percent year-on-year, while exports to Africa saw 25.8 percent growth.Exports to the European Union were also up 8.4 percent, but imports from the bloc dipped.Roiling trade tensions between the EU and China showed signs of easing on Monday when Brussels said Chinese electric vehicle makers could offer price undertakings — which set minimum prices for exporters — which would replace tariffs.Beijing welcomed the move.– ‘Continued resilience’ –China’s trade in 2025 “surpassed 45 trillion yuan ($6.4 trillion) for the first time, setting a new historical high,” vice customs minister Wang Jun told a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.”It should be noted that some countries politicise economic and trade issues, restricting high-tech product exports to China under various pretexts,” Wang said, in an apparent reference to the US tariffs and export controls.”Otherwise, we would have imported even more.”December’s figures showed strong growth, with exports up 6.6 percent and imports jumping 5.7 percent year-on-year.”We expect this resilience to continue through 2026,” said Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics, in a note.”One risk to the export outlook is that the trade truce with the US doesn’t last. Trump’s threat to impose a 25 percent tariff on countries doing business with Iran underscores the potential for renewed trade tensions,” Huang said.The White House has jousted with Beijing over Trump’s sweeping tariffs but reached a broad truce with China after a major escalation in the spring.”(China’s) strong export growth helps to mitigate the weak domestic demand,” according to Zhiwei Zhang at Pinpoint Asset Management.”Combined with the booming stock market and stable US-China relations, the government is likely to keep the macro policy stance unchanged at least in the first quarter,” he said.Going forward in 2026, China’s market will “open more” and “still be an opportunity for the world” Wang Jun said Wednesday.

The US Commerce Department on Tuesday opened the door for Nvidia to sell advanced artificial intelligence chips in China with restrictions, following through on a policy shift announced last month by President Donald Trump.The change would permit Nvidia to sell its powerful H200 chip to Chinese buyers if certain conditions are met — including proof of “sufficient” US supply — while sales of its most advanced processors would still be blocked.However, uncertainty has grown over how much demand there will be from Chinese companies, as Beijing has reportedly been encouraging tech companies to use homegrown chips.Chinese officials have informed some firms they would only approve buying H200 chips under special circumstances, such as development labs or university research, news website The Information reported Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of the situation.The Information had previously reported that Chinese officials were calling on companies there to pause H200 purchases while they deliberated requiring them to buy a certain ratio of AI chips made by Nvidia rivals in China.In its official update on Tuesday, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said it had changed the licensing review policy for H200 and similar chips from a presumption of denial to handling applications case-by-case.Trump announced in December an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping to allow Nvidia to export its H200 chips to China, with the US government getting a 25-percent cut of sales.The move marked a significant shift in US export policy for advanced AI chips, which Joe Biden’s administration had heavily restricted over national security concerns about Chinese military applications.Democrats in Congress have criticized the move as a huge mistake that will help China’s military and economy.- Chinese chips -Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has advocated for the company to be allowed to sell some of its more advanced chips in China, arguing the importance of AI systems around the world being built on US technology.The chips — graphic processing units or GPUs — are used to train the AI models that are the bedrock of the generative AI revolution launched with the release of ChatGPT in 2022.The GPU sector is dominated by Nvidia, now the world’s most valuable company thanks to frenzied global demand and optimism for AI.H200s are roughly 18 months behind the US company’s most state-of-the-art offerings, which will still be off-limits to China.Nvidia’s Huang has repeatedly warned that China is just “nanoseconds behind” the United States as it accelerates the development of domestically produced advanced chips.On Wednesday, leading Chinese AI startup Zhipu said it had used homegrown Huawei chips to train its new image generator.Zhipu AI described its tool as “the first state-of-the-art multimodal model to complete the entire training process on a domestically produced chip”.The startup went public in Hong Kong last week and its shares have since soared 75 percent — one of several dazzling recent initial public offerings by Chinese chip and generative AI companies, as high hopes for the sector outweigh concerns of a potential market crash.

Asian markets were mixed Wednesday, with Japan election speculation pushing Tokyo shares to a record high, while oil steadied after a surge fuelled by instability in Iran.It came after Wall Street stocks retreated from records as markets weighed muted US inflation data, mixed bank earnings and the jump in oil prices.Tokyo was up 1.6 percent, adding to Tuesday’s gains driven by expectations that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will soon call a snap election, while the yen slumped to its lowest value since July 2024.Approval ratings for Takaichi’s cabinet are around 70 percent, but her ruling bloc only has a slim majority in parliament’s lower house, hindering its ability to push through her ambitious policy agenda.Taipei, Wellington and Jakarta each posted gains of less than one percent, but Sydney, Seoul, Mumbai, Singapore and Malaysia were down.Shanghai rose one percent and Hong Kong was up 0.7 percent after China said that trade last year reached a “new historical high”.The price of oil stabilised after an overnight surge as US President Donald Trump announced steep tariffs on anyone trading with Iran, sparking expectations that the threat will restrict supplies of crude.Iran makes up three percent of global oil production, analyst Michael Wan of financial group MUFG noted earlier.Gold rose after Trump warned of unspecified “very strong action” if Iranian authorities go ahead with threatened hangings of some protesters.International outrage has built over the crackdown that a rights group said has likely killed thousands during protests posing one of the biggest challenges yet to Iran’s clerical leadership.- Fed cuts -In the United States, the consumer price index rose 2.7 percent last month, the same rate as in November and in line with expectations.While the inflation report keeps alive the prospect of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2026, US equities tripped into negative territory as Tuesday’s session progressed.”Overall, we still think that the Fed will cut rates more and faster than what is priced by markets right now, and on top of contained inflation pressures a softer labour market through 2026 will also be key for our view,” said MUFG’s Wan.”Continued attacks on Fed independence and Trump’s proclivity to push for lower rates is another key reason behind our view and we forecast US Fed funds rates to fall below three percent” by the third quarter of 2026, he wrote.Traders will also be keeping an eye on a possible US Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday on the legality of Trump’s sweeping tariffs.A ruling against the government would prove a temporary setback to its economic and fiscal plans, although officials have noted that tariffs can be reimposed by other means.- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.6 percent at 54,388.37Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 26,945.27Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.9 at 4,174.29Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1639 from $1.1643 on TuesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3430 from $1.3426Dollar/yen: UP at 159.28 yen from 159.15 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.66 pence from 86.71 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $61.02 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $65.37 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.8 percent at 49,191.99 (close)London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 10,137.35 (close)

Wall Street stocks retreated from records on Tuesday as markets weighed muted US inflation data, mixed bank earnings and a jump in oil prices.The US consumer price index rose 2.7 percent last month, the same rate as in November and in line with expectations.While the inflation report keeps alive the prospect of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2026, US equities tripped into negative territory as Tuesday’s session progressed.All three major indices finished in the red, led by the Dow, which was weighed down by a more than four percent drop in JPMorgan Chase shares.Both the Dow and S&P 500 had finished at records on Monday.Chief Executive Jamie Dimon described the US economy as “resilient” but investment banking results lagged behind expectations and some analysts questioned the lender’s heavy capital spending plans.Shares of other banks and credit card companies have also been pressured by President Donald Trump’s call last week to cap credit card interest at 10 percent — one of several recent Trump statements that have caught markets off guard.”Trump said a lot of stuff” and the market is quite lost where to look at, said Pat Donlon of Fiduciary Trust Company.”It’s like around Liberation Day,” Donlon said, recalling Trump’s April 2025 announcement of sweeping tariffs that sparked market volatility. “We get these wild swings and are back living on Truth Social posts.”The price of oil surged around three percent as Trump announced steep tariffs on anyone trading with Iran, sparking expectations that the threat will restrict supplies of crude.”Supply concerns remained front and center after President Trump announced new tariffs on US imports from any countries trading with Iran, raising fears of further disruptions from one of OPEC’s largest producers,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, a financial services provider.”Iran’s domestic unrest, alongside escalating rhetoric around potential military action, added to the geopolitical premium,” he said.European stock markets finished the day little changed.Earlier Tuesday, Tokyo equities closed at a record high and the yen fell on speculation over a snap election in Japan which would allow Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to capitalize on strong poll numbers.Takaichi was appointed Japan’s first woman prime minister in October and her cabinet enjoys an approval rating of around 70 percent.Seoul climbed 1.5 percent after South Korean chip giant SK hynix said it would spend 19 trillion won ($12.9 billion) building an advanced chip packaging plant, as the firm rides the global AI boom.- Key figures at around 2130 GMT -Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.5 percent at $65.47 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 2.8 percent at $61.15 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 49,191.99 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.2 percent at 6,963.74 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 23,709.87 (close)London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 10,137.35 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,347.20 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 25,420.66 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 26,848.47 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 4,138.76 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 3.1 percent at 53,549.16 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1643 from $1.1667 on MondayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3426 from $1.3465Dollar/yen: UP at 159.15 yen from 158.14 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.71  pence from 86.64 penceburs-jmb/iv

The price of oil surged around three percent on Tuesday as US President Donald Trump announced steep tariffs on anyone trading with Iran, sparking expectations the threat will restrict supplies of crude.”Supply concerns remained front and centre after President Trump announced new tariffs on US imports from any countries trading with Iran, raising fears of further disruptions from one of OPEC’s largest producers,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, a financial services provider.”Iran’s domestic unrest, alongside escalating rhetoric around potential military action, added to the geopolitical premium,” he said.Trump said in a social media post on Monday that the new levies would “immediately” hit the Islamic republic’s trading partners who also do business with the United States.The move “is likely to hit its biggest trading partners like China”, said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor.New York stocks moved lower, coming off Monday’s record levels, despite a US consumer price reading that suggested inflation is easing.Annual consumer price inflation held steady at 2.7 percent last month, which analysts believe is not enough to prompt the Federal Reserve bank into an early rate easing.”We’re beginning to see inflation retreat,” said Bret Kenwell, US investment analyst at the eToro trading platform.”December’s in-line CPI report may not be enough to move the Fed’s view toward a more aggressive rate-cutting policy. But as a cooling jobs environment persists, inflation may not be as much of a constraint when it comes to interest rate policy,” he said.Investors meanwhile mostly shrugged off worries about a US criminal probe of the Federal Reserve that comes amid heavy Trump pressure on Fed chair Jerome Powell to cut rates aggressively.The heads of major central banks threw their support behind the Fed and Powell on Tuesday, saying in a joint statement that it was “critical to preserve” their independence.European stock markets finished the day little changed.Earlier Tuesday, Tokyo equities closed at a record high and the yen fell on speculation over a snap election in Japan which would allow Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to capitalise on strong poll numbers.Takaichi was appointed Japan’s first woman prime minister in October and her cabinet enjoys an approval rating of around 70 percent.Seoul climbed 1.5 percent after South Korean chip giant SK hynix said it would spend 19 trillion won ($12.9 billion) building an advanced chip packaging plant, as the firm rides the global AI boom.Gold and silver set record highs for the second day in a row as investors sought refuge from geopolitical uncertainty.- Key figures at around 1630 GMT -Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.9 percent at $65.75 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 3.1 percent at $61.32 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 49,278.03 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.3 percent at 6,958.63New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 23,690.92London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 10,137.35 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,347.20 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP less than 0.1 percent at 25,420.66 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 26,848.47 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 4,138.76 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 3.1 percent at 53,549.16 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1639 from $1.1666 on MondayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3430 from $1.3466Dollar/yen: UP at 159.17 yen from 158.17 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.67 pence from 86.63 penceburs-rl/jh