World shares were mixed Monday as the price of Brent Crude oil jumped $2.50 a barrel early in the day as talks on ending the war between the U.S. and Iran remained snagged.
Disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have pushed oil prices sharply higher since the war began.
On Monday, Brent futures were up just more than 1% at $106.47 a barrel after initially trading around a multi-week high of $108.50 earlier in the session.
“It may be that hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough were pretty faint to start with, and markets are now in wait-and-see territory ahead of a heavy week of earnings and economic touchpoints,” said Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.
With energy prices high, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, followed by similar decisions from the European Central Bank and Bank of England, which analysts believe is helping stock prices remain buoyant.
Markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt all advanced despite the elevated oil prices and a lack of progress in negotiations. U.S. futures were broadly steady ahead of trading.
Asian markets were mixed on Monday, as Tokyo and Seoul were buoyed by a tech rally, while Hong Kong slipped.
Investors were also looking ahead to earnings this week from U.S. tech titans Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple.
“Investors have been encouraged by corporate news flow over the past few weeks, leading to higher equity prices,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
He added, however, that “higher oil for longer spells trouble for inflation, which in turn could act as a headwind for the economy.”
CBS/AFP
