And SpaceX is leaning towards listing on the Nasdaq.
Oil tanker.
Happy Wednesday and welcome to your morning wrap of the key global political and business headlines from overnight.
First up, oil prices have fallen sharply overnight as investors bet on the release of emergency reserves to counter the supply disruption triggered by the war in the Middle East, CNBC reported.
Brent crude oil – the global benchmark – has fallen 14.6% to US$84.55 per barrel (as of writing at 7.10am NZT), marking a sharp reversal in oil prices over the past 48 hours.
Prices surged to almost US$120 in recent days, before comments yesterday from G7 nations about their preparedness to take “necessary measures” to support the global energy supply and US President Donald Trump's declaration that the war was “pretty much” complete, sparked a sell-off.
The latest overnight moves come as the International Energy Agency will hold an extraordinary meeting later today to discuss the possibility of releasing stockpiles. The more than 30 member states of the IEA collectively hold 1.2 billion barrels of oil in reserve.
Meanwhile, the world’s largest oil and gas company, Saudi Aramco, has warned that the war will have “catastrophic consequences” for the market, The Guardian reported.
“While we have faced disruptions in the past, this one by far is the biggest crisis the region’s oil and gas industry has faced,” Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser said.
Rapidan Energy Group president Bob McNally was quoted by CNBC as saying that markets appeared to be betting the situation could last long and that navigation through the Hormuz Strait would ultimately be restored. “I think there’s a lot of optimism in the market,” McNally said.
On Wall Street, the main indices reversed early losses and gained in choppy trading conditions, as investors took comfort from tumbling oil prices and hopes for a swift end to the conflict, Reuters reported.
Oil reserves.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3%, the broader S&P 500 was up 0.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 0.4%.
Sentiment was more upbeat in European markets, with the main indices across London, Frankfurt and Paris up 1.6%, 2.4% and 1.8% respectively.
Edward Jones global investment strategist Angelo Kourkafas was quoted by Reuters as saying there had been some relief that some of the worst-case scenarios might be avoided. "Of course, the impact from the conflict on inflation and growth will depend on the duration of the conflict. Trump's comments yesterday eased some of the concerns about how long this may last. That said, it will likely continue to be a headline-driven market."
On the latest from the conflict, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said today would be the “most intense” day of US strikes against Iran, the BBC reported.
During a briefing held at the Pentagon, he said Operation Epic Fury’s aims remained the same – to destroy the country’s missile stockpiles, destroy its navy and permanently deny Iran nuclear weapons – and that the US was “crushing the enemy”.
"We do so on our timeline, and at our choosing," he said. "Today will be, yet again, our most intense day of strikes inside Iran. The most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes. Intelligence more refined, and better than ever."
He said that in the last 24 hours, Iran had fired the lowest number of missiles since the start of the war.
Pete Hegseth (source: Wikimedia Commons).
Meanwhile, Iran’s Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Iran would adopt an “eye for an eye” approach to warfare in a post on social media, Al Jazeera reported.
“No act of aggression will go unanswered. Today we declare the rule of ‘an eye for an eye’ – without hesitation and without exception,” he said. “If they begin a war against infrastructure, we will certainly target infrastructure in return,” he added.
In Australia, at least seven members of Iran’s women’s football team have sought asylum in the country, according to the ABC.
Five of the 13-player squad were granted asylum on Monday, and sources have told the ABC that the figure has risen by at least two more, amid fears they would face persecution if they returned home.
The team has been labelled traitors by Iranian state television after players refused to sing the national anthem during the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia. It is understood that the remaining Iranian players departed Sydney International Airport bound for Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday evening.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who was at the airport, said border force officials made multiple representations to the team before they departed, including private meetings, so the players could choose without pressure.
In business news, Elon Musk’s SpaceX is leaning towards listing its shares on the Nasdaq for what could rank as the biggest initial public offering of all time, Reuters reported.
The rocket and satellite maker wants early inclusion on the tech-heavy index, making it a necessary condition for a potential listing, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.
It’s previously been reported that the company is planning an IPO as early as June. The New York Stock Exchange is also competing for the listing, and neither exchange has been informed of a decision either way.
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