Renewed tensions between the US and Iran pushed oil prices and Treasury yields higher overnight after Washington launched fresh strikes against Iranian targets.
The US said the new wave of strikes was in response to attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil transit routes.
Washington also revoked a sanctions waiver that had allowed Iran to continue selling oil, raising fresh concerns over the durability of last month’s fragile ceasefire.
Brent crude climbed above $76 a barrel as traders priced in the risk of further disruption to Middle East energy supplies.
The move higher in oil also fed through to the bond market, with US Treasury yields rising as investors weighed the risk that higher energy prices could complicate the outlook for inflation and interest rates.
The yield on the benchmark 30-year US Treasury moved back above 5% for the first time in more than a month.
Wall Street, however, looked through the geopolitical uncertainty, with all three major US indexes ending higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to a record 53,055.91, while the S&P 500 gained 0.7% to 7,537.43. The Nasdaq climbed 1.1% to 26,121.16 as investors returned to artificial intelligence-related stocks and welcomed softer-than-expected US jobs data.
In Asia, Greater China markets advanced, while other major regional indexes were mostly lower.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3% to 68,077.96, while South Korea’s Kospi dropped 2.9% to 7,429.13.
The Kospi has seen sharp swings in recent weeks after briefly moving above the 9,000 level last month, before renewed selling pressure hit major AI-related technology names including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
Samsung fell 2.9% early Wednesday, extending losses after dropping around 7% in the previous session. SK Hynix moved 2.4% higher.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 2.4% to 24,057.24, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.5% to 4,011.05.
