Sawt Falasteen - Oil rises, stocks steady as US-Iran peace talk hopes wobble

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's visit to Islamabad had fanned hopes for fresh negotiations with Washington at the weekend until US President Donald Trump scrapped a planned trip by envoys on Saturday.

Trump told Fox News after calling off his emissaries' trip that, if Iran wanted talks, "they can come to us, or they can call us."

The international oil benchmark Brent crude stayed above $100 a barrel on Monday as the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway remained largely closed.

Both main oil contracts were up around one percent, though lingering hopes that a deal can eventually be reached tempered gains.

Stock markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt all advanced despite elevated oil prices and a lack of progress in negotiations.

"It may be that hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough were pretty faint to start with, and markets are now in wait-and-see territory ahead of a heavy week of earnings and economic touchpoints," said Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.

With energy prices remaining high, the US Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, followed by similar decisions from the European Central Bank and Bank of England.

Asian stock markets were mixed on Monday, as Tokyo and Seoul were buoyed by a tech rally, while Hong Kong slipped.

Investors were also looking ahead to earnings this week from US tech titans Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple.

"Investors have been encouraged by corporate news flow over the past few weeks, leading to higher equity prices," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

He added, however, that "higher oil for longer spells trouble for inflation, which in turn could act as a headwind for the economy."

Tehran's top diplomat blamed Washington on Monday for the failure of talks in Pakistan this month -- the first and only round of negotiations in a bid to strike a deal to end the conflict.

Araghchi blamed the United States for its "excessive demands", adding that "safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is an important global issue".

US media outlet Axios -- citing a US official and two other sources with knowledge of the matter -- reported on Sunday that Iran had sent a new proposal to end the war centred on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending a US naval blockade there, with nuclear negotiations postponed for a later stage.

- Key figures at 1100 GMT -

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.0 percent at $95.34 a barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.3 percent at $106.70 a barrel

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 10,398.57 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.6 percent at 8,206.54

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.9 percent at 24,348.27

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.4 percent at 60,537.36 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 25,925.65 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 4,086.34 (close)

New York - Dow Jones: DOWN 0.2 percent at 49,230.71 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1746 from $1.1717 on Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3558 from $1.3530

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 159.15 yen from 159.42 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 86.64 pence from 86.60 pence

H.Jarrar--SF-PST