By Kimberley Kao


Oil prices fell while Asian stocks rose early Tuesday amid hopes for further U.S.-Iran talks.

The U.S. and Iran plan to hold peace talks in Islamabad this week, as the end of a two-week cease-fire looms. The Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump isn't inclined to extend the deadline past Wednesday evening, when it expires, according to a White House official.

Trump has warned that if Iran doesn't make a deal, it would face strikes that knock out all of its bridges and power plants. Tehran hasn't publicly confirmed that it would send representatives to the meetings in Pakistan, but has told regional mediators that it would send a team to negotiate with the U.S., the WSJ reported.

"The president may be trying to buy time to reach a deal during the current ceasefire" by naming Wednesday evening as the end of the ceasefire, rather than Tuesday, said Kristina Clifton, senior economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, in a note.

Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Trump is seeking to turn the negotiating table into a "table of surrender" or to justify "renewed warmongering." "We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats," Ghalibaf wrote on his X account early Tuesday, Tehran time.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were down 1.7% at $88.07 per barrel, and front-month Brent crude oil futures were 0.8% lower at $94.75 a barrel, ICE data showed.

"There is scope for deeper [oil-price] declines, as both sides have strong incentives to end the conflict," says Nikos Tzabouras, senior market analyst at Tradu, in an email.

Equity markets in Asia were higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average up 1.0%, South Korea's Kospi rising 2.2% to hit a record high intraday level, and Taiwan's Taiex adding 2.0%.

"Brinkmanship has returned, but markets are not panicking. A messy deal remains the most likely outcome," FX strategists at OCBC Group Research said.

"Geopolitical developments remain fluid, implying two-way risks is still warranted even as markets are trading on hopes of an end to the conflict," leaving room for disappointment if a deal is not reached, they said in a note.

U.S. futures were up. Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were each 0.1% higher, while Nasdaq futures were up 0.2%.


Write to Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-20-26 2130ET