Oil Rebounds from Five-Month Low as Trump Says India to Halt Russian Imports
Oil prices edged higher from recent five-month lows on Wednesday after Donald Trump claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to stop buying Russian oil, raising expectations of tighter global supply.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded close to $59 per barrel, while Brent crude futures hovered just below $62 per barrel.
India is Russia’s second-largest oil customer after China, but relations with Washington have been strained after the US administration imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods, which President Trump described as punishment for India’s continued energy trade with Moscow.
Asian Markets Gain on Wall Street Rally and Rate Cut Hopes
Most Asian stock markets advanced, following a positive session on Wall Street and optimism that the US Federal Reserve will continue to cut interest rates.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.8% to 48,069.71, lifted by strong corporate earnings and rate-cut expectations. South Korea’s Kospi surged 1.8% to a record 3,722.67, buoyed by heavy buying in tech and auto stocks amid optimism over progress on US-Korea trade negotiations. Samsung, Hyundai, and Kia were among the top gainers.
In China, the Hang Seng Index fell 0.4% to 25,799.27, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.1% to 3,916.10. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.9% to 9,068.40, breaking the 9,000-point mark for the first time, helped by strength in gold miners as bullion prices rose 1.2% to $4,252.30 per ounce.
Australia’s jobless rate also rose to 4.5% in September, the highest in four years, fuelling expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia could cut interest rates as early as next month.
Elsewhere, India’s BSE Sensex added 0.5%, and Taiwan’s Taiex advanced 1.5%.
Wall Street Mixed as Bank Earnings Boost Sentiment
In the US, stocks posted modest gains after a volatile session. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 6,671.06, recovering from a sharp intraday swing that nearly erased early gains. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.7% to 22,670.08, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped less than 0.1% to 46,253.31.
Shares in Morgan Stanley and Bank of America each rose over 4% after third-quarter results beat market expectations, helping to lift broader financial stocks.
US Treasury yields edged higher, with the two-year note closing around 3.5%, as traders bet the Federal Reserve will cut rates again later this month.
