Oil plunges on Trump's Iran comments as global markets show mixed signals

Oil markets lurched downward Thursday morning after President Trump declared he had been assured on reliable authority that Iran had ceased carrying out executions. The claim sent crude prices tumbling nearly three dollars a barrel, even as Tehran itself was signaling the opposite—that trials would proceed swiftly and capital punishment would continue as part of its response to civil unrest.

U.S. benchmark crude fell $2.73 to settle at $59.13 per barrel, a drop of 4.5 percent. Brent crude, the international standard, lost $2.94 to close at $63.58, down 4.4 percent. The sharp decline reflected traders' interpretation that reduced tensions over Iran might ease concerns about potential disruptions to oil supplies from the region. Yet the contradiction between Trump's statement and Tehran's own messaging left the market's direction uncertain.

Global equity markets reflected that same hesitation. Futures tied to the S&P 500 edged up 0.3 percent, while Dow Jones futures gained less than a tenth of a percent—modest movements that suggested caution rather than conviction. On Wall Street itself, the previous day had been weaker, with the S&P 500 sliding 0.5 percent for its second consecutive loss. The Nasdaq composite had fallen 1 percent, dragged down by technology stocks that have dominated trading in recent months. Investors appeared to be stepping back from the artificial intelligence rally that had driven much of the market's earlier gains, with some analysts warning that valuations in the sector had stretched beyond reasonable levels.

European markets opened with mixed signals. France's CAC 40 dropped 0.4 percent to 8,296.41. Germany's DAX held nearly flat at 25,291.73. Britain's FTSE 100 managed a small gain, rising 0.5 percent to 10,233.35. The lack of clear direction suggested traders were waiting for more information before committing capital in either direction.

Asia's performance was similarly uneven. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4 percent to 54,110.50, with technology shares under particular pressure. SoftBank Group fell 4.9 percent, while Advantest, a maker of testing equipment for semiconductors, dropped 2.5 percent. Yet the broader market was not uniformly weak. Muji, the Japanese retailer, surged nearly 12 percent after reporting earnings that exceeded expectations. Toyota Industries climbed 6.2 percent following news that Toyota Motor had raised its offer to buy out the company to 18,800 yen, or about $118.61 per share.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 0.3 percent to 26,923.62. Trip.com, a Chinese online travel platform, was hit hard, sinking 19 percent after Beijing announced an antitrust investigation into the company. Shanghai's composite index declined 0.3 percent to 4,112.60 after Chinese regulators tightened margin requirements for investors. South Korea's Kospi, by contrast, gained 1.6 percent to 4,797.55, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.5 percent to 8,861.70.

Taiwan's Taiex fell 0.4 percent, and TSMC, the island's dominant chip manufacturer, dropped 1.2 percent despite announcing quarterly profit and revenue that beat forecasts. The company said it plans to increase capital spending by nearly 40 percent this year to keep pace with surging demand driven by artificial intelligence applications. The disconnect between strong fundamentals and falling stock price underscored the broader market skepticism about technology valuations.

Currency markets moved modestly. The U.S. dollar weakened slightly to 158.42 Japanese yen from 158.46, while the euro fell to $1.1639 from $1.1645. The movements were small enough to suggest traders were not making large bets on any particular direction. What emerged from Thursday's trading was a market in transition—pulling back from the technology enthusiasm that had dominated recent weeks, uncertain about the implications of Trump's Iran statement, and waiting for clearer signals about where risks and opportunities actually lay.