The China Mail - Stocks lower as Hormuz concerns and high oil prices persist

Oil prices edged higher as the United States and Iran showed no signs of reaching a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic after nearly six months of war, even though Monday is in theory the day a US-Iran ceasefire expires.

"Traders continue to keep an eye on the US-Iran standoff," said David Morrison, analyst at Trade Nation.

"The ongoing diplomatic gridlock between Washington and Tehran over transit through the Strait of Hormuz has kept crude prices elevated," he said.

In early trading in New York, the Dow and the wider S&P 500 -- which hit an all-time high last Thursday -- were marginally lower while the tech-heavy Nasdaq, whose members are spending heavily on AI and are sensitive to interest rates, was slightly higher.

In midafternoon European trading London, Paris and Frankfurt were all lower.

Still, fading expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise rates and confidence that the United States and Iran will step back from the brink have kept a floor under equity prices, which have largely risen so far this August.

"The market has been able to maintain some hope in the notion that diplomacy will prevail and that oil prices won't be a trigger for a global recession," said Patrick J. O'Hare, an analyst at Briefing.com.

Tehran fired back on Saturday at US President Donald Trump's claim that he would soon declare the Hormuz strait part of US territory, saying the crucial energy waterway "will remain Iranian".

On Monday, Trump threatened to bomb Oman if it got in the way of a US-Iran deal.

On the corporate front, attention now turns to the release of earnings this week from retail titans Walmart, Home Depot and Target, which could give a clearer view of sentiment among American consumers.

Recent statistics have pointed to a weakening US labour market and slower US consumer spending, but even poor results from the top retailers could help the US stock market, said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, analyst at Swissquote.

"Results pointing to weaker domestic consumption could further tame inflation worries, help ease Fed hike bets and hence put downward pressure on US yields. That would be a positive development for the major US indices, heavy in technology," she said.

In Asia, Hong Kong was lifted by tech giants Alibaba, Tencent and JD.com, while Shanghai and Taipei were also up. Seoul was closed for a holiday.

Tokyo advanced as the chipmaker Kioxia soared more than 15 percent, while SoftBank, Advantest and Tokyo Electron rose between 1.6 and 2.6 percent.

The dollar continued to slip against major currencies after dropping on Friday in reaction to the latest economic data.

- Key figures at around 1340 GMT -

New York - DOW: DOWN 0.3 percent at 53,557.33 points

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,777.01

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 26,754.25

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 10,727.79

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 8,594.94

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 26,374.88

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 69,220.25 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.3 percent at 25,453.23 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 3,982.65 (close)

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $88.78 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $82.48 per barrel

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1597 from $1.1567 on Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3561 from $1.3535

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 159.27 yen from 159.38 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 85.52 pence from 85.46 pence

K.Leung--ThChM