U.S. strikes hit a city Tuesday that's home to one of Iran’s main nuclear sites, sending a massive fireball into the sky, and Tehran attacked a fully loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker in the Persian Gulf.
The attacks were testament to the intensity of the war more than a month after the U.S. and Israel launched their first strikes. The conflict has left more than 3,000 dead and caused major disruptions to the world’s supply of oil and natural gas.
Brent crude futures inched up slightly to $107.56 a barrel on Tuesday, while benchmark U.S. crude rose 83 cents to $103.71 per barrel.
Oil prices have surged in March with Brent crude prices rising more than 40% since the start of the Iran war.
Average U.S. gas prices on Tuesday glided past $4 a gallon, the first time since 2022, as the global energy prices soar. Also on Tuesday, official data showed that Europe’s inflation rate in March jumped to 2.5%, up from February’s 1.9%.
Maritime traffic disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly a fifth of the world’s oil normally passes through, remains the pain point for global energy supplies. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump has “options available” in response to Tehran’s threats to control the strait, after Iran was said to have effectively created a “toll booth” there.
In equities trading early Tuesday, shares of the spice maker McCormick jumped 3% with many anticipating it will absorb the food division of Unilever. Unilever, based in London, is trying to streamline its personal care and cosmetics business. Unilever shares ticked up less than 1%.
It wouldn't be the first major business deal this week. Sysco said it would acquire supplier Jetro Restaurant Depot in a $29 billion deal on Monday.
At midday in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.9%, France's CAC 40 was up 0.5%, while Germany's DAX was trading 0.6% higher.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was down 1.6% to 51,063.72. Losses after the Iran war began on Feb. 28 have wiped out the gains it made from the beginning of the year.
South Korea’s Kospi lost 4.3% to 5,052.46. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.2% to 24,788.14, while the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.8% to 3,891.86.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.3%, while Taiwan’s Taiex was 2.5% lower.
In other dealings early Tuesday, gold and silver prices were up. Gold’s price was 0.6% higher at $4,584.10 an ounce, and silver prices rose 3.7% to $73.17 per ounce.
The U.S. dollar was at 159.64 Japanese yen, down from 159.71 Japanese yen. The euro was trading at $1.1468, up from $1.1465.