US–Iran talks deadlock lifts oil prices: Brent above $106, Indian stocks fall

Asian markets opened on Monday in the shadow of the diplomatic deadlock between the United States and Iran, as oil prices climbed again on the lack of progress in the peace talks. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 1.5% to around $106 a barrel, while Asian markets fell 0.2%, as Reuters reports.

The price increase came after U.S. President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the fighting, while Tehran insisted on Sunday that only diplomacy can resolve the conflict with the United States and Israel.

The market blow is felt most sharply in India, the world’s third-largest crude importer. India remains heavily exposed to higher prices, which fuel inflation, widen the import bill and erode company margins. The Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex have fallen for seven straight sessions, losing nearly 6% — one of the longest weekly declines in history — and the market headed for a weak start again this Monday, with GIFT Nifty futures at 23,111 points.

Foreign investors sold Indian shares worth 36.94 billion rupees (about $385.5 million) on Friday alone, preliminary data show, taking September’s net selling to $1.8 billion and the year-to-date total to $25.86 billion.

Oil prices have become the markets’ focal point since late February, when the U.S. and Israel began joint strikes on Iran, sparking the war that continues to shake the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil flows, remains the epicenter of the standoff: Tehran keeps it restricted, while Washington says it is keeping it open through military operations.