Global shares mostly higher ahead of Trump's deadline for Iran to reopen oil route

U.S. shares were set to drift slightly higher with Dow futures up 0.1% at 46,963.00. S&P 500 futures inched up less than 0.1% to 6,652.50.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained less than 0.1% to close at 53,429.56. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.7% to 8,728.80. South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.8% to 5,494.78. The Shanghai Composite edged up 0.3% to 3,890.16. Trading was closed in Hong Kong for a holiday.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 38 cents to $112.79 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 23 cents to $110.00 a barrel. That remains well above its roughly $70 price from before the war.

Oil prices have been seesawing amid uncertainty over the war in the Middle East and how long it will slow the global flow of oil and natural gas. Iran on Monday rejected the latest ceasefire proposal and instead said it wants a permanent end to the war.

The Mizuho Daily by the research team in Singapore at Mizuho Bank noted Trump's latest actions mark “an escalation cycle that has now been extended several times since his first ultimatum in late March.”

“Given the differing perspectives, hopes of a complete resolution to the conflict remains elusive while countries continue to work on bilateral solutions,” it said.

As talks continued, Iranian and Omani officials also were working on a mechanism for administrating the strait through which a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped in peacetime. Iran’s grip on it has shaken the world economy.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged down to 159.56 Japanese yen from 159.62 yen. The euro cost $1.1566, up from $1.1543.

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama