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(AWP Alliance News) - Stocks in Sydney were higher on Tuesday and stock markets were mixed across the Asia Pacific region after the US decided to postpone a planned strike on Iran. When speaking about Iran, US President Donald Trump said they are getting close to reaching a deal. 'It's a very positive development, but we'll see whether or not it amounts to anything,' Trump said during a White House event. The US has also issued a 30-day extension to the sanction waiver for Russian oil shipments already at sea. Over in Australia, the latest Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index rose 3.5% to 83 points in May from 80.1 points in April, remaining in negative territory below the 100-point neutral mark separating optimism and pessimism. 'Some of last month's shock from the spike in fuel prices has eased. The temporary halving in fuel excise tax has helped to reduce average pump prices,' said Matthew Hassan, head of Australian Macro-Forecasting at Westpac. 'However, this positive would have been largely offset by the RBA's 25bp rate hike at the start of the month, the third interest rate rise in as many meetings.' The S&P/ASX 200 was up 80.40 points, 1.0%, at 8,585.70 on Tuesday afternoon. Woolworths climbed 4.3%, Coles rose 3.0%. Lynas Rare Earths lost 4.8%, PLS fell 3.3%. QBE Insurance shares were up 4.3% after the company said it will issue AUD500.0 million floating rate notes on Tuesday, amounting to approximately USD357.9 million. Westpac Banking was up 1.6% after announcing it will issue SGD500.0 million, around USD390.7 million, 3.0% notes due 2038. Around midday in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was down 386.19 points, 0.6%, at 60,429.76 on Tuesday. Recruit jumped 6.5%, Nintendo rose 5.9%. Fanuc fell 4.0%, SoftBank Group declined 3.6%. Japan's economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter of 2026, Cabinet Office figures showed. According to preliminary estimates, Japan's annualised gross domestic product grew 2.1% in the first quarter of 2026, accelerating from a 1.3% increase in the fourth quarter of 2025 and surpassing the FXStreet-cited consensus forecast of 1.7%. GDP growth stood at 0.5% quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of 2026, up from 0.3% growth in the preceding quarter and ahead of the 0.4% consensus forecast. 'We think the Q1 GDP is already in the rear-view mirror and expect the economy to feel the strains from high energy costs ahead. Higher energy prices and elevated uncertainty will limit consumption and investment in the near term,' commented Norihiro Yamaguchi, lead economist at Oxford Economics. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 15.87 points, 0.4%, at 4,115.65. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was up 36.64 points, 0.1%, at 25,711.82. The FTSE TWSE Taiwan 50 Index was down 840.22 points, 2.2%, at 37,429.10. In Seoul, the Kospi fell 323.16 points, 4.3%, at 7,192.88. In Singapore, the Straits Times Index was up 34.70 points, 0.7%, at 5,031.45. Samsung Electronics notably fell 3.4%. Over in Mumbai, the Nifty 50 closed up 6.45 points, broadly flat, at 23,649.95 on Monday. Brent oil was quoted down at USD109.92 a barrel early in London on Tuesday from USD111.26 around the same time a day earlier. West Texas Intermediate fell to USD102.82 a barrel from USD103.19. Gold was quoted higher at USD4,551.22 an ounce against USD4,532.84. The dollar weakened against the yuan to CNY6.8003 from CNY6.8178 and against the Australian dollar to AUD1.4000 from AUD1.4025. However, the dollar strengthened against the yen to JPY158.97 from JPY158.92. The euro was at USD1.1643, and the pound was at USD1.3415. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.60%, narrowing from 4.63%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 5.14%, narrowing slightly from 5.15%. In the US on Monday, performance on Wall Street was mixed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.3%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.5%. IG says futures indicate London's FTSE 100 is to open 0.2% higher on Tuesday, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 and the CAC 40 in Paris will also rise 0.2%. Still to come on Tuesday's economic events calendar are Japan's industrial production figures and Hong Kong unemployment numbers. By Elijah Dale, Alliance News senior reporter Asia-Pacific Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

(AWP Alliance News) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Tuesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, amid ongoing pessimism over the conflict in the Middle East and concerns over the outlook for interest rates. Traders react to US President Donald Trump saying he has decided to hold off on attacking Iran amid requests from leaders from the Middle East. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday. Trump said he suspended a planned strike on Iran scheduled for Tuesday after appeals from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, adding that the Gulf nations believed a deal with Tehran acceptable to Washington could still be reached. Trump said there was a 'very good chance' Washington and Iran could reach a deal to stop Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. The U.S.-Iran war, which began on February 28, has effectively closed the vital Strait of Hormuz, leading to a spike in crude oil prices and concerns about inflation and the outlook for interest rates. The Australian stock market is notably higher on Tuesday, reversing some of the losses in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Monday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is moving well above the 8,550.00 level, with gains across most sectors led by energy and technology stocks. Iron ore miners were the only weak spot. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 70.00 points or 0.82 percent to 8,575.30, after touching a high of 8,604.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 64.30 points or 0.74 percent to 8,799.70. Australian stocks closed sharply lower on Monday. Among the major miners, Rio Tinto, Fortescue and BHP Group are losing almost 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is edging up 0.1 percent. Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is adding almost 2 percent and Origin Energy is advancing more than 1 percent, while Santos and Woodside Energy are gaining almost 1 percent each. Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block, Zip and WiseTech Global are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Xero and Appen are adding more than 1 percent each. Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Newmont is gaining almost 2 percent and Genesis Minerals is advancing almost 3 percent. Resolute Mining is losing more than 1 percent. Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is gaining almost 1 percent, while ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank and Westpac are advancing more than 1 percent each. In economic news, Australia's Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index rose 3.5 percent in May to 83.0, rebounding from April's 2-1/2-year low of 80.1. The Reserve Bank of Australia will also release the minutes from its May 5 monetary policy meeting. At the meeting, the RBA raised its key interest rate by a quarter-point to 4.35 percent as risks to inflation remain tilted to the upside. This decision followed similar quarter-point increases in February and March. In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.714 on Tuesday. The Japanese stock market is trading notably lower on Tuesday after opening in the green, following the losses in the previous three sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Monday, with the Nikkei 225 falling well below the 60,450 level, with weakness in automakers and technology stocks partially offset by gains in financial stocks. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 60,429.76, down 386.19 points or 0.64 percent, after touching a high of 61,456.31 and a low of 60,425.33 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly lower on Monday. Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining more than 3 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 1 percent and Toyota is edging down 0.2 percent. In the tech space, Advantest and Screen Holdings are losing more than 4 percent each, while Tokyo Electron is declining almost 3 percent. In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining more than 2 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is advancing more than 3 percent and Mizuho Financial is jumping more than 4 percent. The major exporters are mostly lower. Mitsubishi Electric is declining more than 4 percent, Canon is edging down 0.2 percent and Panasonic is down more than 1 percent, while Sony is gaining almost 2 percent. Among the other major losers, Furukawa Electric and Lasertec are tumbling more than 5 percent each, while Dowa Holdings, Renesas Electronics, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Nissan Chemical, Fujikura and Sumitomo Pharma are sliding almost 5 percent each. Tokuyama, Mitsubishi Electric and Yaskawa Electric are declining more than 4 percent each, while Disco and Socionext are losing almost 4 percent each. Conversely, BANDAI NAMCO and BayCurrent are jumping more than 7 percent each, while Konami Group is surging almost 7 percent, while ARCHION and Recruit Holdings are advancing more than 6 percent each. CyberAgent, AGC and Nintendo are rising more than 6 percent each, while Nomura Research Institute, Olympus, Kirin Holdings, Kajima and Tokyo Electric Power are gaining almost 5 percent each. Nisshin Seifun is adding more than 4 percent. In economic news, Japan's gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent on quarter in the first quarter of 2026, the Cabinet Office said in Tuesday's preliminary reading. That beat expectations for a gain of 0.4 percent and was up from the downwardly revised 0.2 percent increase in the three months prior (originally 0.3 percent). On a yearly basis, GDP was up 2.1 percent - again topping forecasts for 1.7 percent and up from the downwardly revised 0.8 percent gain in the previous quarter (originally 1.3 percent). Capital expenditure was up 0.3 percent on quarter, beating forecasts for 0.2 percent after adding 1.4 percent in Q4. External demand and private consumption were both up 0.3 percent on quarter. In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 158 yen-range on Tuesday. Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is down 4.5 percent, while China, Taiwan and Indonesia are lower by between 0.4 and 0.9 percent each. New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore are higher by between 0.2 and 1.2 percent each, while Malaysia is up 0.1 percent. On Wall Street, stocks saw continued weakness throughout much of the trading day on Monday but managed to regain some ground going into the end of the session, following the sharp pullback seen during last Friday's session. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day, with the Dow reaching positive territory. While the Dow climbed 159.95 points or 0.3 percent to 49,686.12, the S&P 500 edged down 5.45 points or 0.1 percent to 7,403.05 and the Nasdaq slid 134.41 points or 0.5 percent to 26,090.73. Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside over the course of the session. While the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1.3 percent and the German DAX Index shot up by 1.5 percent. Crude oil prices surged on Monday as the U.S. takes time to respond to Iran's new peace proposal. West Texas Intermediate crude for June was last up $3.27 or 3.10 percent at $108.69 per barrel. Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

(AWP Alliance News) - Indian shares are seen opening a tad higher on Tuesday as investors pinned hopes for a U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal. Oil prices have fallen, with Brent crude futures declining nearly 2 percent toward $109 a barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump said there was a 'very good chance' Washington and Iran could reach a deal to stop Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. Additionally, the United States has extended the waiver from sanctions on Russian oil stranded at sea on or before April 17 through June 17. Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty reversed early losses to end marginally higher on Monday, supported by gains in technology stocks. The rupee fell by 38 paise to close at 96.35 against the dollar, marking a new record low. Foreign investors net bought shares worth Rs 2,814 crore on Monday and domestic institutional investors net bought shares to the extent of Rs 2,682 crore, according to provisional exchange data. Asian markets were mixed this morning, and gold was subdued below $4,560 an ounce, while the dollar steadied after declining in the previous session. A steep sell-off in global bonds abated, with the yield on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note easing from a more than one-year high to 4.5974 percent and the two-year yield falling to 4.0564 percent in early Asian trade. U.S. stocks ended mixed overnight as technology stocks extended losses from the previous session on concerns over surging oil prices and bond yields. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to its highest level since February 2025 early in the session after President Trump warned Iran the 'clock is ticking' on a deal. Trump later said he had paused a planned attack against Iran at the request of several Arab leaders, adding the U.S. military has been instructed to go forward with a full, large-scale assault on Iran in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached. While the Dow rose 0.3 percent, the S&P 500 finished marginally lower and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed half a percent. European stocks reversed early losses to end higher on Monday after Iran said it responded to a new U.S. proposal through Pakistan mediation and that exchanges with Washinton were continuing. As part of a revised negotiation framework with Tehran, it was said the U.S. has agreed to temporarily suspend sanctions on Iran's oil sector. The pan European Stoxx 600 gained half a percent. The German DAX rallied 1.5 percent, France's CAC 40 edged up by 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 1.3 percent. Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX