The Japan Times - Oil plunges after Trump's Iran comments, Asian markets mixed

Oil prices dropped three percent after Trump said Wednesday he would "watch it and see" on possible intervention in the Islamic republic, after he said he was told the killings of protesters there had stopped.

Crude prices had surged over recent days as Trump talked about coming to the aid of the Iranian people over the crackdown on demonstrations, sparking concerns over possible disruption to global supplies.

Silver plunged as much as seven percent after hitting a record high above $93.75 an ounce, after Trump held off slapping tariffs on critical minerals. Gold also dipped.

"The swings in commodities highlight the extreme volatility being fed by President Trump's mercurial policy style," said Garfield Reynolds, Markets Live Asia Team Leader at Bloomberg.

But "so far the declines for raw materials are still too small to seriously dent this year's substantial rallies", he said.

"There's plenty of potential that investors will be itching to pile back into commodities assets given how often they've bounced back to fresh highs following occasional corrections in recent weeks," Reynolds added.

Tokyo was down 0.4 percent at the close, cooling off after gains fuelled by speculation that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi would call an election to capitalise on strong public approval ratings.

Takaichi's ruling party and a coalition partner said Wednesday she intends to dissolve parliament next week for a snap election, seen as a chance to push through her ambitious policy agenda.

Sydney, Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila and Singapore posted gains, while Hong Kong, Wellington, Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur were down.

Shanghai closed 0.3 percent down and Taipei ended 0.4 percent lower.

After the closing bell, Taiwanese chipmaking titan TSMC said net profit for the fourth quarter jumped 35 percent year-on-year, beating forecasts as demand for artificial intelligence skyrockets.

- South Korean won slides -

Traders were also watching South Korea -- with Seoul up 1.5 percent -- as the won's exchange rate slid towards its weakest level in 16 years.

In a rare mention, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that the won's depreciation was "not in line with Korea's strong economic fundamentals" and that volatility in the foreign exchange market is "undesirable".

The won gained as much as one percent after Bessent's comments, which he posted on social media after meeting Seoul's finance minister Koo Yun-cheol in Washington.

"Bessent's comments can support the won in the near term, but markets may have more influence if they feel the fundamentals and politics are still in a worsening trajectory," said Brendan McKenna, a strategist at Wells Fargo in New York.

The mixed picture in Asia came after Wall Street stocks fell again Wednesday as investors shrugged off solid bank earnings and an increase in retail sales in November.

Analysts noted investor unease about possible US interventions in Iran and Greenland, and Trump's threats to Federal Reserve autonomy, most recently in the Department of Justice's criminal probe of the central bank.

- Key figures at around 0700 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 54,110.50 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.4 percent at 26,903.72

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 4,112.60 (close)

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.9 percent at $60.23 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.9 percent at $64.60 per barrel

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1635 from $1.1647 on Wednesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3438 from $1.3433

Dollar/yen: UP at 158.58 yen from 158.56 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 86.59 pence from 86.68 pence

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 49,149.63 points (close)

London - UP 0.5 percent at 10,184.35 (close)

S.Fujimoto--JT