Oil falls more than 4% and Asian shares gain over Trump's talk of negotiations with Iran

HONG KONG, March 25, (AP): Oil prices fell more than 4% and Asian shares gained on Wednesday over possibilities of a de-escalation of the Iran war and negotiations between the United States and Iran. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was up 3% to 53,806.15. South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.6% to 5,643.09. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.7% to 25,227.73, while the Shanghai Composite index was 1.1% higher at 3,925.27.

Labubu doll maker Pop Mart's Hong Kong-listed shares fell more than 15%, after it announced annual revenue for last year that was largely in line with analysts’ estimates. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.9%.

Taiwan’s Taiex was up 2.5%. Trump's claims of progress being made from talks with Iran this week and his postponement on Monday of a deadline to "obliterate” Iran’s power plants over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz have also fueled optimism that an end to the Iran war could come soon.

The administration of US President Donald Trump is said to have offered a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran, but an Iranian military spokesperson mocked the US’ attempt at a ceasefire deal Wednesday.

With the Strait of Hormuz being a key waterway for crude oil and liquefied natural gas transport, oil and gas prices have spiked and fluctuated in recent days. Oil prices fell again on rising hopes for a de-escalation.

Brent crude, the international standard, fell 4.2% to $96.07 per barrel. It was around $104 on Tuesday. Benchmark US crude was down 3.8% early Wednesday to $88.89 a barrel. While Iran has denied negotiations were taking place, and attacks in the Middle East continued, Pakistan has offered to host talks between Washington and Tehran.

And as Trump raised optimism of a de-escalation of the war, at least 1,000 more American troops from the 82nd Airborne Division are said to be deployed to the Middle East in the coming days. US futures were up more than 0.7% on Wednesday. On Tuesday, U.S. stocks closed lower. The S&P 500 lost 0.4% to 6,556.37. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.2% to 46,124.06, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% lower to 21,761.89.