At a Glance

• Brent holds above $87 a barrel
• Asian shares trade mixed
• U.S. futures edge higher
• Gold rises amid market uncertainty

Oil prices held steady on Tuesday after surging 5% in the previous session, as uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz continued to weigh on global crude supply expectations.

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Key Statements and Focus Area

• Brent crude: Unchanged at $87.72 a barrel after gaining 5% Monday.
• U.S. crude: Flat at $82.13 a barrel.
• Asian markets: South Korea's Kospi gained 1.5%, while Hong Kong and Shanghai declined.
• Gold: Rose 1.2% to $4,472.90 an ounce.
• Wall Street: Investors are awaiting Wednesday's July inflation report for signals on Federal Reserve policy.

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Brent crude was unchanged at $87.72 a barrel on Tuesday, while U.S. benchmark crude stood at $82.13.

Brent jumped 5% on Monday as markets continued to assess the prospects for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and restoring unrestricted oil tanker traffic from the Middle East.

Oil prices have remained volatile. Brent traded between approximately $72 and $102 a barrel last month as expectations over a possible US-Iran agreement shifted.

Asian stocks moved in different directions after US markets retreated slightly from their recent record highs.

South Korea's Kospi gained 1.5% to 6,391.71, supported by a 4.6% rise in Samsung Electronics. SK Hynix also advanced 1.3%.

Tokyo markets were closed for a holiday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.6% to 25,773.56, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1% to 3,964.79.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% to 9,277 after the Reserve Bank of Australia left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.35%.

Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.4%, while India's Sensex declined 0.4%.

On Monday, the S&P 500 fell 0.1% from Friday's record, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.3%.

US corporate earnings remain a major source of support for markets. According to FactSet, earnings per share for S&P 500 companies are on track to rise 50% in the spring compared with a year earlier, which would represent the strongest growth in five years.

Berkshire Hathaway rose 1.5% after reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly profit and revealing that it had invested part of its large cash holdings in stocks under new CEO Greg Abel.

MarineMax surged 46.1% after agreeing to be acquired for about $1.5 billion in cash by a Blackstone portfolio company.

Varex Imaging climbed 48.8% after Teledyne Technologies announced plans to acquire the company for $18.90 per share in cash.

Intel fell 4.1% after saying it could sell $15 billion of stock. The company said the funds could be used for investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Investors are focused on Wednesday's US inflation report for July.

Economists expect annual inflation to have eased to 3.4% from 3.5% in June. The data could influence expectations over the Federal Reserve's approach to interest rates.

Higher interest rates can help contain inflation but can also increase borrowing costs for households and companies and put pressure on stocks and other investments.

The US dollar fell slightly to 159.19 Japanese yen from 159.30 yen.

The euro remained unchanged at $1.1544.

Gold, which is widely used as a hedge during periods of market uncertainty, rose 1.2% to $4,472.90 an ounce.

FYI

The Strait of Hormuz remains a critical route for global energy shipments, making developments surrounding its reopening an important factor for oil markets. Recent price swings have reflected changing expectations over US-Iran diplomacy and the potential restoration of unrestricted tanker traffic through the waterway.

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