World shares were mostly lower Thursday while oil prices fell more than $2 as traders bet on a possible U.S.-Iran nuclear deal.
U.S. benchmark crude oil lost $2.37 to $60.78 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up $2.32 to $63.70 per barrel.
President Donald Trump, visiting Qatar as part of a three-country Middle East tour, has urged it to use its influence with Iran to persuade its leadership to agree to dial back its rapidly advancing nuclear program. A deal would help pave the way to ease sanctions against Tehran.
Oil prices surged early this week after China and the U.S. announced an agreement to scale back painfully high tariffs each has imposed on the other for 90 days. But they've since retreated after the U.S. Energy Administration reported relatively high crude oil stockpiles that could lead to an oversupply.
European share markets opened lower, with Germany’s DAX shedding 0.3% to 23,453.16, while the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.3% at 7,814.40. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.2% to 8,564.65.
The future for the S&P 500 lost 0.6% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4%.
China moved to reverse some of its “non-tariff” measures against the U.S. as agreed with Washington in their temporary trade war cease-fire, while demanding that the U.S. side “immediately correct its wrong practices.”
A Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson, He Yongqian, accused the Trump administration of violating world trade rules by announcing that use of Ascend computer chips made by China's Huawei Technologies violates U.S. export controls.
“This move by the U.S. is not conducive to the long-term mutually beneficial and sustainable cooperation and development of companies on both sides,” He said in a statement.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index dropped 1% to 37,775.51. Computer chip-related stocks were among the biggest decliners, with Disco Corp. falling 3.2% and Advantest down 1.1%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.8% to 23,453.16, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.7% to 3,380.82. Taiwan's Taiex fell 0.2%, while India's Sensex rebounded to gain 1.6%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.2% higher to 8,297.50. South Korea's Kospi gave up 0.7% to 2,621.36.
On Wednesday, a choppy day of trading on Wall Street ended with a mixed finish as gains by several big technology stocks helped temper losses.
The S&P 500 edged up 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.7%.
The U.S. will release its April report for inflation at the wholesale level on Thursday, and economists expect an easing of price pressures.
An update for retail sales is expected to reflect a sharp drop to 0.2% in April from 1.4% the previous month.
Retail giant Walmart will also report its latest financial results on Thursday and its financial forecasts will be closely watched.
The stock market has been relatively steady since it surged Monday after the U.S. and China announced a 90-day pause in their trade war. The market gained more ground on Tuesday after the government reported that inflation unexpectedly cooled across the country in April. More updates on inflation and retail sales are expected on Thursday.
Trump has delayed a large swath of his most severe tariffs against America's trading partners, but some import taxes remain in place. Uncertainty over the path ahead continues to hang over businesses and consumers. The on-again-off-again nature of Trump’s trade policy has left companies reluctant to make plans about investment and hiring and consumers nervous about spending.
Businesses continue to trim or withdraw their financial forecasts as they face unpredictable trade policy and cautious consumers.
More than 90% of companies in the S&P 500 have reported earnings for their latest quarter and most reported better-than-expected earnings. But they have cut or scrapped forecasts for the current quarter.
The U.S. economy has already showed signs of slowing. It contracted 0.3% during the first quarter as imports jumped while businesses and consumers stocked up to beat tariffs.
In other dealings early Thursday, the dollar slipped to 145.77 Japanese yen from 146.75 yen. The euro rose to $1.1208 from $1.1174.
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