Pedestrians pass by the Exchange Square complex, which houses the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, in Hong Kong, China, Tuesday, March 23, 2021.
Pablo Yeung | Bloomberg via Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets fell on Friday following a volatile session on Wall Street overnight, as prospects for a Middle East peace deal remained murky amid mixed messages from the United States and Iran.
President Donald Trump extended his Friday deadline to strike Iran’s energy infrastructure by 10 days to April 6 to give more time for negotiations.
The extension was at the request of the government of the Islamic Republic, Trump said, and was granted in exchange for 10 oil tankers that passed through the Strait of Hormuz as a “gift” from Tehran.
“In accordance with the request of the Iranian government, let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of destruction of the power plant,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
“Talks are ongoing and, despite misstatements to the contrary by the fake news media and others, they are going very well,” Trump added.
In recent days, Washington has signaled that it wants a negotiated end to the conflict and has insisted that peace talks have begun with the Islamic Republic. Tehran has denied that it is in direct talks with the US.
Iran reportedly rejected the 15-point proposal compiled by the United States and offered its own conditions, including a guarantee that the United States and Israel will not resume their attacks on the country and recognition of its authority over the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices fell amid an easing of tensions in the nearly month-long conflict. West Texas Intermediate for May delivery fell 1.8% to $92.82 per barrel at 8:30 p.m. ET, while international benchmark Brent crude oil futures fell 1.92% to $105.9 per barrel.
South Korea led the largest declines in the region, with the blue-chip Kospi down 3.6% and the small-cap Kosdaq losing 2%.
Australia S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.42% in early Asian trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.6% and the broad-based Topix fell 0.8%.
from hong kong Hang Seng Index fell 0.2%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 0.4%.
China’s industrial profits rose 15.2% year-on-year in the January-February period, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday, extending a strong rebound from a 5.3% rise in December.
