Oil surges, stocks sink as US reportedly eyes fresh Iran strikes
Oil prices soared more than five percent Thursday following reports that the United States could launch fresh attacks on Iran before next month's midterm elections, risking further supply disruptions.
International benchmark Brent North Sea crude rallied to $105.46 per barrel and the main US contract, West Texas Intermediate, was up to $92.82 per barrel.
The Atlantic reported that the White House had asked the Pentagon to draw up options to hit sites in Iran ahead of the November 3 vote.
With Donald Trump's Republicans in danger of losing both houses of Congress, an escalation in the US-Iran conflict risks even more pressure on the president, with Americans already battling record high diesel prices.
But the suggestion is that fresh US attacks could strengthen Trump's position in seeking to bring Tehran to the negotiating table in a bid to end the war.
"The planning (for possible fresh strikes) should be seen in the context of efforts to pressure Iran, bring energy prices down, and demonstrate progress in the conflict ahead of the election," noted Arne Lohmann Rasmussen, chief analyst at energy analysts Global Risk Management.
The surge in oil prices weighed heavily on stock markets, with Europe's main indices all falling in early afternoon deals, led by a 1.1-percent drop for Frankfurt.
At the same time share prices of energy majors rallied. London-listed BP was up 3.5 percent and British rival Shell gained 2.3 percent.
TotalEnergies won 2.4 percent in Paris.
Asia's leading stock markets tracked losses Wednesday on Wall Street, where technology firms pulled back from recent gains.
Shares in Samsung's slid as the South Korean titan forecast a huge increase in quarterly profit but below market expectations.
On currency markets, the euro remains wedged at lows last seen in June 2025 on worries about France's high debt levels, which have spooked bond markets.
Ahead of the Wall Street reopening, the Financial Times reported that Elon Musk's SpaceX is aiming to raise $40 billion in bank loans and debt to further its purchases of AI chips from Nvidia.
The massive fundraising, coming just four months after SpaceX raised $86 billion in the world's biggest IPO, underscored the voracious demand among tech firms for chips to roll out their ambitions surrounding artificial intelligence.
- Key figures at around 1115 GMT -
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 5.1 percent at $105.33 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 5.1 percent at $92.74 per barrel
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 10,411.78 points
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.9 percent at 7,701.33
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.1 percent at 24,830.27
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.4 percent at 69,042.11 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 23,785.79 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,811.90 (close)
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 51,179.87 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1179 from $1.1194 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3196 from $1.3210
Dollar/yen: UP at 158.27 yen from 158.07 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.71 pence from 84.74 pence
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O.Greco--RTC
