Sawt Falasteen - Oil prices jump, stocks waver after Trump's Iran claim

European and US stock markets had rallied Monday after US President Donald Trump delayed strikes on Iranian energy sites and hailed "very good" talks with Iran.

Asian equities caught up with the strong gains Tuesday but European stock markets failed to build on the previous session's surge.

Oil prices, which had tumbled on Monday, rebounded slightly with Brent going back over $100 a barrel.

"European equities have shown the first sign of fading momentum after yesterday's relief rally, with markets increasingly questioning the validity of Trump's claim of positive negotiations with Iran," noted Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.

Trump on Monday stepped back from his threat to attack energy sites citing "very good" talks to end the war.

He added that his administration was speaking with an unidentified "top person" but Tehran parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said "no negotiations" were underway, insisting Trump was seeking "to manipulate the financial and oil markets".

According to the Financial Times and Bloomberg, thousands of oil contracts -- a much higher number than normal -- were traded fifteen minutes before the president unexpectedly announced a halt to strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure.

Despite the uncertainty over the war's direction, Trump's remarks ramped up hopes for an end to the conflict and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one fifth of global oil and gas normally flows.

But hours after Trump stepped back from his threat to attack power infrastructure, Iranian media reported that Israeli-US strikes targeted two gas facilities and a pipeline.

As the war sent energy prices surging and disrupted global supply chains this month, business activity in the eurozone slowed according to a closely watched survey published Tuesday.

The HCOB Flash Eurozone purchasing managers' index registered a significantly lower figure of 50.5 for March, down from 51.9 in February. A reading above 50 indicates growth.

"The flash Eurozone PMI is ringing stagflation alarm bells as the war in the Middle East drives prices sharply higher while stifling growth," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence -- which published the findings.

"Firms' costs are rising at the fastest rate for over three years amid the surge in energy prices and choking of supply chains resulting from the war," he added.

Iran's choking of the Strait is impacting airlines, with Lufthansa and Cathay Pacific extending flight suspensions to destinations across the Middle East.

- Key figures at around 1100 GMT -

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.5 percent at $101.45 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.6 percent at $90.45 per barrel

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 9,911.79 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,730.13

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 22,560.68

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.4 percent at 52,252.28 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.8 percent at 25,063.71 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.8 percent at 3,881.28 (close)

New York - Dow: UP 1.4 percent at 46,208.47 points (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1591 from $1.1616 on Monday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3401 from $1.3437

Dollar/yen: UP at 158.71 yen from 158.34 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 86.49 pence from 86.45 pence

burs-bcp/ajb/gv

O.Farraj--SF-PST