London, 16 January (H.S.): International oil benchmarks Brent North Sea crude and West Texas Intermediate tumbled more than four percent on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump moderated his rhetoric toward Iran, alleviating market fears of potential military intervention and supply disruptions.
The sharp decline followed Trump's comments on Wednesday, January 15, where he stated he would watch it and see regarding any U.S. action in the Islamic Republic, adding that he had received assurances the regime had halted killings of anti-government protesters. This de-escalation reversed a recent surge driven by Trump's vows to support demonstrators amid Tehran's crackdown, with XTB research director Kathleen Brooks observing that as tensions are dialed down between Iran and the U.S., the political risk premium is rapidly getting priced out of the oil price.
U.S. stock markets rebounded modestly after two down days, propelled by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter profits; the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged over one percent early before paring gains amid Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's warnings of 100 percent tariffs on non-U.S. semiconductor production.
The S&P 500 closed up 0.3 percent, boosted by investment banks Morgan Stanley (+5.8 percent) and Goldman Sachs (+4.6 percent) reporting robust merger-related revenues.
European bourses showed mixed results: London's FTSE 100 hit a record high on November GDP rebound data, Frankfurt advanced on Germany's avoidance of a third recession year with meager 2025 growth, while Paris dipped partly due to TotalEnergies shares falling with oil. Tokyo ended 0.4 percent lower amid election speculation around Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi; silver dropped 0.3 percent after a seven percent intraday plunge from peaks, and gold eased modestly.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
