| (BSS/AFP) - Oil prices jumped on Tuesday to their highest level since the US-Iran ceasefire, pressuring US stocks as lack of progress on an accord to reopen the Strait of Hormuz added to inflation worries.
Meanwhile, tech stocks took a hit and investors turned their attention to corporate earnings and the outlook for interest rates.
Efforts to end the Middle East war appeared at a standstill on Tuesday, with the United States considering Tehran`s latest offer to unblock the strait, and Iran saying Washington could no longer dictate terms.
Iran has blockaded the waterway -- a vital conduit for oil and gas shipments -- since the start of the US-Israeli offensive two months ago, sending shockwaves through the global economy.
CNN, however, reported that US President Donald Trump was unlikely to accept Iran`s proposal to restore traffic in the strait, as Qatar warned of the possibility of a "frozen conflict" if a definitive resolution is not found.
Oil prices rallied, with Brent crude for June delivery rising 2.8 percent to $111.26 a barrel.
The benchmark US contract, WTI for June delivery, rose 3.7 percent to $99.93 per barrel.
Hopes for a deal had been rising going into last weekend but Trump dashed them on Saturday by scrapping a planned trip by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad for negotiations.
"Right now, the market is not optimistic about the chance of a deal to reopen the Strait due to Iran`s request to push discussions about nuclear disarmament into the future," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading platform.
Meanwhile, major crude producer United Arab Emirates announced it will withdraw from the OPEC and OPEC+ oil cartels on May 1, calling it a strategic decision.
Rystad Energy analyst Jorge Leon said the UAE`s move is significant as, alongside Saudi Arabia, it is one of the few nations with significant spare production capacity.
"While near-term effects may be muted given ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, the longer-term implication is a structurally weaker OPEC" and potentially more market volatility, Leon said.
- AI concerns -
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell nearly one percent, with shares in companies linked to OpenAI hit by a report in the Wall Street Journal that the ChatGPT maker had missed targets on the number of users and revenue.
Shares in Oracle, which is building massive data center capacity for Open AI, fell more than four percent, while CoreWeave, another important OpenAI provider, sank 5.8 percent.
When you get a piece of news like this, you know, people say, `Oh, maybe I`ll just take profits and see what happens,`" said Thomas Martin at Globalt Investments. "This is going to continue to go on for quite a long time."
The news also means that AI spending by tech giants Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft will come under even closer scrutiny when they report results later this week.
Europe`s main equity markets ended mostly lower.
Stock markets mostly fell in Asia, under further pressure after the Bank of Japan sharply raised its inflation forecasts for the current year and halved its growth projections owing to surging oil prices while leaving its key interest rate unchanged.
The US Federal Reserve began a two-day meeting Tuesday amid the same growing inflationary concerns over the surge in energy costs. However, the US central bank is expected to keep rates unchanged.
- Key figures at 2010 GMT -
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.8 percent at $111.26 a barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 3.7 percent at $99.93 a barrel
New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 49,141.93 (close)
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.5 percent at 7,138.80 (close)
New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 24,663.80 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 10,332.79 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 percent at 8,104.09 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 24,293.56 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 59,917.46 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.0 percent at 25,679.78 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 4,078.64 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1712 from $1.1721 on Monday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3515 from $1.3535
Dollar/yen: UP at 159.64 yen from 159.42 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 86.64 pence from 86.60 pence
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