Oil Prices Slip and Asian Markets Waver as Iran Conflict Fears Recede

West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 0.8% to $90.74 a barrel, while Brent crude slipped 1.0% to hover just above $103. Despite the decline, analysts at ANZ Research warned that any sudden escalation remains a credible threat to the recent recovery of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. As energy prices softened, investors sought refuge in gold, which climbed 1.0% to $4,176.75 per troy ounce.

Equity sentiment remained uneven across the region. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.7% and the Shanghai Composite shed 1.2%, pressured by a deepening rout in semiconductor and artificial intelligence stocks. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng bucked the trend with a 1.1% gain, though tech shares there faced their own headwinds. Market anxiety intensified following reports that the Trump administration moved to suspend tech giants, including Microsoft, from sponsoring workers for U.S. permanent residency. Semiconductor firms bore the brunt of the selloff: Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor tumbled 6.45%, while Hua Hong Grace Semiconductor saw shares slump by more than 4% in both Shanghai and Hong Kong trading.