Asian markets were mixed on Monday after U.S. stocks set more records, driven by strong corporate profits. Oil prices held steady following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that the U.S. would assist ships leaving the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday. Iran rejected the plan, but Trump indicated that talks with Iran could yield positive outcomes.
Oil Market Reactions
The price of U.S. benchmark crude fell 21 cents to $101.74 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, edged up 5 cents to $108.19 per barrel. Much depends on progress toward ending the war with Iran and resolving the bottleneck through the Strait of Hormuz. Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management noted that the oil market "remains the fulcrum, with hundreds of tankers, bulk carriers, and cargo ships still stranded across the Gulf, idling as storage constraints force producers to shut production simply because there is nowhere left to store it."
U.S. Military Announcement
Trump announced what he called "Project Freedom" would begin Monday morning in the Middle East. The U.S. Central Command stated it would involve guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft, and 15,000 service members, but the Pentagon did not immediately clarify how they would be deployed.
Asian Market Performance
In Asian trading, Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.4% to 26,135.47. Markets in mainland China and Japan were closed for "Golden Week" holidays. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.3% to 8,704.70. Strong buying of tech stocks pushed South Korea's Kospi up 3.8%, and Taiwan's Taiex surged 4.2%.
Wall Street Records
On Friday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.3% to another all-time high of 7,230.12, closing out a fifth straight winning week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.3% to 49,499.27, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.9% to a record close of 25,114.44. Apple led the way after delivering better-than-expected profit. As one of Wall Street's largest stocks, its rally of 3.3% was the strongest force lifting the S&P 500.
Corporate Earnings
Stock prices generally follow corporate profits over the long term, and U.S. companies have exceeded expectations for earnings in the first three months of 2026, despite the war with Iran and high oil prices souring confidence for many households. A little more than a quarter of S&P 500 companies have reported, with 84% topping analysts' estimates, according to FactSet. The index is on track to deliver roughly 15% profit growth from a year earlier.
Oil Price Uncertainty
The main uncertainty for the global economy is the direction of oil prices due to the Iran war. Oil prices spurted higher last week on worries that the war might keep the Strait of Hormuz closed for a long time, trapping oil tankers in the Persian Gulf. Brent was selling for a little more than $70 per barrel before the war began. Soaring prices helped the two biggest U.S. oil companies report stronger quarterly profits than analysts expected, but stock prices fell for both Exxon Mobil (1%) and Chevron (1.4%) as oil prices regressed Friday and each reported drops in net income from a year earlier.
Currency Movements
In other dealings early Monday, the dollar rose to 157.18 Japanese yen from 156.80 yen, while the euro fell to $1.1724 from $1.1746.
