World Shares Gain on US, Iran Talks    03/25 04:49

   Oil prices fell more than 5% and world shares gained on Wednesday over the 
possibility of a de-escalation of the Iran war and negotiations between the 
United States and Iran. U.S. futures were up 0.9%.

   HONG KONG (AP) -- Oil prices fell more than 5% and world shares gained on 
Wednesday over the possibility of a de-escalation of the Iran war and 
negotiations between the United States and Iran. U.S. futures were up 0.9%.

   In early European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1% to 10,072.60. France's 
CAC 40 was up 1.4% to 7,855.31, while Germany's DAX was 1.6% higher at 
22,989.80.

   Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was up 2.9% to 53,749.62. South Korea's Kospi gained 1.6% 
to 5,642.21.

   Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.1% to 25,335.95, while the Shanghai Composite 
index was 1.3% higher at 3,931.84. Labubu doll maker Pop Mart's Hong 
Kong-listed shares fell 22.5%, after it announced annual revenue for last year 
that was largely in line with analysts' estimates.

   Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.9%. Taiwan's Taiex was up 2.5%.

   U.S. President Donald Trump's claims of progress being made from talks with 
Iran this week and his postponement on Monday of a deadline to "obliterate" 
Iran's power plants over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz have also fueled 
optimism that an end to the Iran war could come soon.

   Trump's administration has offered a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran, but an 
Iranian military spokesperson mocked the U.S.' attempt at a ceasefire deal 
Wednesday.

   With the Strait of Hormuz being a key waterway for crude oil and liquefied 
natural gas transport, oil and gas prices have spiked and fluctuated in recent 
days.

   Oil prices fell again on growing hopes for a de-escalation. Brent crude, the 
international standard, fell 5.2% to $94.97 per barrel. It was around $104 on 
Tuesday.

   Benchmark U.S. crude was down 5.3% early Wednesday to $87.44 a barrel.

   While Iran has denied negotiations were taking place, and attacks in the 
Middle East continued, Pakistan has offered to host talks between Washington 
and Tehran. And as Trump raised optimism of a de-escalation of the war, at 
least 1,000 more American troops from the 82nd Airborne Division are said to be 
deployed to the Middle East in the coming days.

   On Tuesday, U.S. stocks closed lower. The S&P 500 lost 0.4% to 6,556.37. The 
Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.2% to 46,124.06, while the Nasdaq 
composite was 0.8% lower to 21,761.89.

   Shares of Estee Lauder sank more than 9%, following confirmation that the 
U.S.-listed company is in merger talks with Spanish beauty and perfume group 
Puig.

   In other dealings early Wednesday, gold prices resumed its rise after 
falling earlier. It dropped in part because of rising U.S. Treasury yields over 
dimming expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut after the spike in oil 
prices threatened to fuel global inflation.

   The price of gold was up 3.6% early Wednesday to $4,561.90 per ounce. It was 
above $5,000 earlier this month.

   The U.S. dollar was at 158.84 Japanese yen, up from 158.69. The euro was 
trading at 1.1602, down from $1.1608.