A currency trader talks on the phone near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ahn Young-joon)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-04-17T04:24:51Z<\/p>\n
HONG KONG (AP) \u2014 Asian stocks were lower Friday even after Wall Street set another record, as investors watched for signs of more U.S.-Iran talks and an extension of the ceasefire of the Iran war<\/a><\/span> that is expiring next week.<\/p>\n Oil prices fell Friday, while U.S. futures edged up modestly.<\/p>\n Tokyo\u2019s Nikkei 225 fell 1% to 58,930.87 after reaching an all-time high on Thursday. South Korea\u2019s Kospi was 0.6% lower at 6,191.19. Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng dropped 1% to 26,126.86, while the Shanghai Composite index edged down 0.1% to 4,051.45.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s S&P\/ASX 200 lost 0.3%, while Taiwan\u2019s Taiex traded 0.5% lower.<\/p>\n U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that he\u2019s open to extending<\/a><\/span> the two-week ceasefire in the Iran war, and Iran\u2019s U.N. envoy said Tehran remained<\/a><\/span> \u201ccautiously optimistic\u201d over negotiations with the U.S. <\/p>\n As optimism over an extended ceasefire grew, oil prices fell early Friday after climbing a day earlier. Brent crude, the international standard, was 1.1% lower at $98.31 per barrel. It had surged roughly 40% since the beginning of the Iran war in late February. Benchmark U.S. crude was down 1.4% to $89.90 a barrel.<\/p>\n Global energy shocks are growing over impacts of the Iran war, with the Strait of Hormuz<\/a><\/span> remaining largely closed while the U.S. imposed a sea blockade<\/a><\/span> on Iranian ports. The head of the International Energy Agency told<\/a><\/span> The Associated Press on Thursday that Europe has \u201cmaybe six weeks or so\u201d of jet fuel supplies remaining and warned of flight cancellations \u201csoon.\u201d<\/p>\n