Asian stocks fall, oil climbs over Iran war de-escalation uncertainties

Asian stocks were mostly lower and oil prices gained on Thursday as a de-escalation of the Iran war remained uncertain. US futures were down 0.1 per cent. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was trading 0.3 per cent lower at 53,607.75. South Korea's Kospi lost 1.9 per cent to 5,537.30. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.4 per cent to 24,978.71, while the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.6 per cent to 3,909.16. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.2 per cent, while Taiwan's Taiex was trading 0.4 per cent higher. Oil prices were up again on Thursday after an earlier dip. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 1.3 per cent to USD 98.51 per barrel. It was below USD 95 on Wednesday. Benchmark US crude was 1.6 per cent higher at USD 91.75 a barrel. The rise in oil prices came as Tehran on Wednesday dismissed a ceasefire plan by the US, after the administration of US President Donald Trump offered a 15-point proposal to Iran and Trump this week delayed a self-imposed deadline to "obliterate" its ...

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