Sawt Falasteen - Oil prices fall as markets monitor state of play on US-Iran situation

Hopes of an imminent deal to avoid further hostilities in the Mideast war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz pressured oil prices, which fell more than five percent.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said that a return to war with the United States was unlikely, but warned the Islamic republic stood ready to respond to any attack.

US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said in a cabinet meeting at the White House that he was in no rush to reach a deal, despite saying at the weekend that one was close.

"Iran is very much intent, they want very much to make a deal. So far they haven't gotten there. We're not satisfied with it, but we will be," he said.

"Either that or we'll have to just finish the job."

All three major US indices posted modest gains good enough to yield fresh records.

Investors appeared willing to look past the conflicting headlines on Iran, buoyed also by another surge for tech stocks on expectations the AI rollout will continue to propel earnings in the sector.

Stocks have also been boosted by a retreat in US Treasury yields as oil prices have fallen, said Angelo Kourkafas of Edward Jones.

"The demand for AI build-out remains very strong, and in a way some of these companies have been a place that investors have gravitated towards that went too high as a lot of the geopolitical uncertainty has persisted" said Kourkafas, who nonetheless predicted the sector's momentum could soon ebb.

"I think we may be reaching a point that some rotation would be a way that investors will likely continue to participate in the equity rally."

In Asia, South Korean chipmaker SK hynix jumped 11 percent to hit a $1-trillion market capitalization, placing it alongside regional tech heavyweights Samsung Electronics and TSMC.

The gains followed a strong session on Wall Street on Tuesday, US chipmaker Micron piled on nearly 20 percent to also hit a $1-trillion market cap. Micron rose another 3.6 percent on Wednesday.

"The tech boom is back," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.

The Middle East war, which began in late February, has effectively halted tanker and cargo traffic in the Hormuz strait, a vital oil and gas trading corridor, driving up energy prices and stoking global inflation.

Economists warn that central banks may have to raise interest rates if inflation persists, increasing borrowing costs and potentially weighing on economic growth.

- Key figures at around 2015 GMT -

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 5.3 percent at $94.29 a barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 5.6 percent at $87.77 a barrel

New York - DOW: UP 0.4 percent at 50,644.28 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP less than 0.1 percent at 7,520.36 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.1 percent at 26,674.73 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 10,505.01 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 8,207.89 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: FLAT at 25,177.80 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 25,328.23 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 64,999.41 points (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.3 percent at 4,093.73 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at 1.1629 from 1.1631 on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at 1.3434 from $1.3446

Dollar/yen: UP at 159.53 from 159.30 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 86.59 from 86.49 pence

O.Mousa--SF-PST