Oil Slips as Asian Stocks Rally on Iran Diplomacy Signals

Trump met Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani at the White House on Monday to discuss Qatar’s mediation efforts. In a Truth Social post after the meeting, Trump said there was “positive momentum toward an end to this Conflict” and that further strikes “seem to be quite unlikely,” while adding the U.S. was “‘locked and loaded’ and ready to go.”

Westpac analyst Ryan Wells said tentative signs of progress between Washington and Tehran had improved market sentiment. ANZ Research analysts said the status quo remained the most likely scenario, with the Strait of Hormuz operating below normal capacity, tanker availability tight and freight costs elevated—conditions they said could persist broadly through year-end.

In early Asian trading, front-month West Texas Intermediate futures were down 0.9% at $86.08 a barrel after dropping below $90 overnight. Brent futures fell 0.7% to $91.92.

Asian markets broadly followed Wall Street higher. South Korea’s Kospi rose 4.15%, while Kospi futures gained more than 5%, triggering a five-minute trading halt. SK Hynix added 5.8% and Samsung Electronics rose 4.1%. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average and Taiwan’s Taiex each advanced 2.6%; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.7% and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.6%.

Tickmill Group’s Patrick Munnelly said dip buyers likely moved in after last week’s technology rout. He said investors still faced pressure from unwinding crowded AI trades, doubts about large-scale AI investment and potential regulatory headwinds from a Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress. Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang was also caught up in a spy scandal, another market concern cited in the report.