Asian shares were mostly lower and U.S. futures also fell Thursday after Wall Street retreated, dragged down by falls in Big Tech stocks.
Oil prices fell more than $2 a barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was told “on good authority” that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, even as Tehran has signaled fast trials and executions ahead in its crackdown on protesters.
U.S. benchmark crude fell $2, or 3.3%, to $59.88 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed $2.12, or 3.2%, to $64.40 per barrel.
In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.9% to 53,863.84, with technology-related stocks trading lower. SoftBank Group fell 5.6%, testing equipment maker Advantest fell 4.1% and chip maker Tokyo Electron fell 3.3%.
Shares of machinery and equipment maker Toyota Industries rose 6% following reports that automaker Toyota Motor has raised its buyout offer for the company to 18,800 yen ($118.61) per share.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.6% to 26,850.78. Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese online travel platform Trip.com sank more than 20% after Beijing said it had opened an antitrust investigation into the group. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.6%, to 4,101.52.
South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.5% to 4,747.85.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.3% to 8,851.00.
Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.6%. Taiwan’s leading chip maker TSMC is expected to post strong quarterly profits in its earnings announcements on Thursday.
The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.1% lower.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 dipped 0.5% to 6,926.60, for its second straight loss. The Dow slipped 0.1% to 49,149.63. The Nasdaq composite slipped 1% to 23,471.75.
Big Tech stocks were among those weighing on performance -- even as the majority of stocks on Wall Street rose -- in part as investors dialed back from the artificial intelligence frenzy and as some critics warned their stocks had become overvalued.
Shares of Nvidia declined 1.4%, and chip maker Broadcom fell 4.2%.
Shares at several banks also fell. Wells Fargo sank 4.6% after it reported weaker-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue. Bank of America was down 3.8%, and Citigroup slipped 3.3%.
Exxon Mobil and other oil companies were among those keeping the S&P 500 from heavier losses. Exxon Mobil was up 2.9%, and Chevron rose 2.1%.
Investors sought safe-haven assets as geopolitical uncertainties remain elevated. The prices of gold fell back on Thursday by 0.8%, but was still close to its previous record levels.
In the bond market, the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury fell to 4.14%, down from 4.18% late Tuesday, as investors turned to investments deemed safer. Bond prices rise as yields fall.
In other dealings early Thursday, the dollar rose to 158.63 Japanese yen from 158.46 yen.
The euro was trading at $1.1636, down from $1.1645.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.
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