Oil rises as Hormuz uncertainty keeps Asian markets mixed before US inflation

Asian shares traded mixed and oil extended gains as uncertainty over reopening the Strait of Hormuz persisted. The standoff and upcoming US inflation data kept investors cautious on rates and risk appetite.Asian shares were mixed on Tuesday, while oil prices rose more than 2 per cent after a sharp jump the previous day, as uncertainty over when the Strait of Hormuz may reopen kept the global crude market on edge. US stock futures edged lower, while Brent crude rose 2.4 per cent to USD 89.80 a barrel and US benchmark crude gained 2.6 per cent to USD 84.28 a barrel.Markets in the region were unsteady after Wall Street moved away from its record highs. Investors were also looking ahead to Wednesday's US inflation update for July, which is expected to show inflation easing to 3.4 per cent from 3.5 per cent in June, a reading that could reduce pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.Oil prices extended their gains after US President Donald Trump dismissed Iran's demand that the US pay for devastation caused by five months of war as one condition for reopening the strait. Brent had surged 5 per cent on Monday. Last month, it moved between USD 72 and USD 102 as hopes rose and fell over a possible agreement between the United States and Iran that would allow oil tankers to leave the Middle East freely again and supply crude worldwide.In early European trading, France's CAC 40 slipped 0.2 per cent to 8,708.85, Germany's DAX fell 0.2 per cent to 26,272.81 and Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.2 per cent at 10,840.84. Futures for both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.1 per cent lower. In Asia, South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.7 per cent to 6,345.53, helped by a 4.1 per cent jump in Samsung Electronics and a 0.4 per cent rise in SK Hynix. Markets in Tokyo were closed for a holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.1 per cent to 25,652.82 and the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.8 per cent to 3,934.09. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2 per cent to 9,250.60 after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.35 per cent. Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.4 per cent, while India's Sensex shed 0.5 per cent.The sharp swings seen in recent weeks, driven by changing expectations over how much artificial intelligence may lift company profits, have eased in the past few days. "Broadly, for the Korean memory chipmakers, the past year's chip mania could well be over, even though Korean chipmakers will continue to benefit from the massive AI build out," Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote, said in a commentary. On Monday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent from the record it set on Friday. The Dow dipped 0.1 per cent and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3 per cent. The recent rally, supported by strong US corporate earnings, has slowed. According to FactSet, earnings per share for S&P 500 companies are on track to have jumped 50 per cent in the spring from a year earlier, which would be the strongest growth in five years. Berkshire Hathaway rose 1.5 per cent after reporting stronger quarterly profit than analysts had expected, while Intel fell 4.1 per cent after saying it may sell USD 15 billion of its stock to help fund heavy spending linked to AI technology.Higher interest rates can help keep inflation under control, but they can also slow the economy by making borrowing costlier for households and companies, while also weighing on stock and other investment prices. In other early Tuesday trading, the US dollar rose to 159.35 Japanese yen from 159.30 yen, despite recent intervention by Japan and the US to support the yen. The euro slipped to USD 1.1539 from USD 1.1544, while gold, often seen as a hedge in uncertain times, added 0.3 per cent to USD 4,434.20 an ounce.In sum, markets remained cautious as investors tracked oil's rise, uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz, mixed trading across Asia and Europe, and the coming US inflation data that could shape expectations for interest rates.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 11, 2026 15:22 IST