Asian shares retreat, crude prices soar after Trump sanctions Russian oil giants

Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Thursday following a retreat on Wall Street, while crude prices jumped more than $2 per barrel after US President Donald Trump announced sanc-tions on Russian oil giants.

The sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil are intended to drive Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and help end Moscow’s brutal war on Ukraine. Meanwhile, European Union leaders were holding a summit Thursday, aiming to greenlight still more sanctions against Russia and press ahead with plans to use Moscow’s assets that are frozen in Europe to fund Ukraine’s war effort and economy for at least the next two years.

US benchmark crude oil gained $2.31 to $60.81 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose $2.38 to $64.97 per barrel.

Chinese shares declined as leaders in Beijing were wrapping up an important Communist Party meeting that will set the agenda for the coming five years. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.2 per cent to 25,738.00 while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.7 per cent to 3,886.19 as reports indicated Washington may tighten restrictions exports to China of products made using US software. Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed nearly 1.3 per cent to 48,683.84 on reports that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is preparing a stimulus package larger than last year’s of nearly 14 tril-lion yen (about $92 billion).

SoftBank Group led losers, with shares shedding more than 4 per cent after it unveiled plans to finance its investments in artificial intelligence by issuing US dollar and euro dominated bonds. Takaichi has also said she favours keeping interest rates near their current low level of close to zero, and that has caused the Japanese yen to weaken against the dollar.

The dollar rose to 152.37 Japanese yen early Thursday, up from 151.94 yen. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.9 per cent to 3,849.87, with investors remaining cautious while trade negotiations with the US showed only partial progress. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added less than 0.1 per cent to 9,032.80. Taiwan’s Taiex slipped 0.4 per cent, while India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.8 per cent.