Asian Shares Retreat As US-Iran Peace Talks Collapse

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks fell on Monday after weekend negotiations between the United States and Iran aimed at ending six weeks of war concluded without an agreement.

"They have chosen not to accept our terms," U.S. Vice President JD Vance said in a brief news conference but left open the possibility that terms could still be reached.

Iran said that "unreasonable U.S. demands" prevented the progress of the negotiations. Adding to investor anxiety, President Donald Trump said the U.S. Navy will blockade the Strait of Hormuz until Iran relents.

With the Middle East conflict now in its second month, the Asian Development Bank warned in a report that the economies of Asian countries will face a slowdown in growth even if oil prices remain relatively stable.

The dollar strengthened on renewed geopolitical tensions and gold fell toward $4,700 an ounce while Brent crude prices surged 7 percent to around $102 a barrel.

China's Shanghai Composite index recovered from an early slide to end marginally higher at 3,988.56. Ahead of his scheduled visit to Beijing next month, Trump on Sunday threatened China with a 50 percent new tariff if Beijing provides military support to Iran during the U.S.-Israeli war. Later, he made an unexpected pitch to China, offering to supply oil at competitive rates.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.90 percent to 25,660.85 amid ongoing Middle East tensions and a rebound in oil prices.

Japanese markets fell notably, with the Nikkei average closing 0.74 percent lower at 56,502.77, dragged down by artificial intelligence and semiconductor stocks. The broader Topix index ended down 0.45 percent at 3,723.01.

Seoul stocks declined on escalating tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. The Kospi average dropped 0.86 percent to 5,808.62, dragged down by tech and auto stocks. Samsung Electronics tumbled 2.4 percent and Hyundai Motor lost 2.3 percent.

Australian markets ended slightly lower on concerns that the Middle East conflict may last longer than feared. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.39 percent to 8,926 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 0.46 percent at 9,113.40.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index fell 1.22 percent to 13,020.18 after a survey showed activity in the country's services sector hit a 10-month low in March.

A2 Milk shares plunged 12.4 percent after the infant formula supplier lowered its revenue and earnings guidance.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday but notched their biggest weekly gain since November ahead of Middle East peace negotiations in Islamabad.

Hours before the talks, President Trump warned that U.S. warships are being reloaded with ammunition to resume strikes on Iran in case peace talks in Pakistan fail.

In economic news, U.S. consumer sentiment tumbled to a record low in April amid concerns about the war with Iran and a surge in year-ahead inflation expectations, while headline consumer price inflation rose sharply by 3.3 percent year-on-year in March, reaching the highest level in nearly two years and matching economist estimates, separate reports showed.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4 percent, the S&P 500 slid 0.1 percent and the Dow dipped 0. 6 percent.