Asia Stocks Rise for Third Day, Oil Prices Stabilize after Iran Deal


Asia Stocks Rise for Third Day, Oil Prices Stabilize after Iran Deal

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Asian shares rose for the third straight day on Tuesday, while oil prices regained some semblance of stability after the previous session's slide as traders questioned how quickly the Iranian nuclear accord could turn into higher supplies.

The yen came off a 4-year trough against the euro, and inched up against the dollar as traders repositioned after several days of sharp moves.

Thailand was in the spotlight again as political instability threatened to undermine the economy.

The baht bounced from a 11-week low on suspected intervention by the Thai central bank, but intensifying political uncertainty as anti-government protesters stepped up their bid to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has triggered heavy outflows of foreign money, keeping pressure on the currency.

The baht was flat at 31.97 per dollar, off its low of 32.09, while Thai shares .SETI advanced 0.7 percent after hitting an 11-week closing low on Monday, Reuters reported.

"The baht will weaken further depending on the sustainability and intensity of the protests as they will hurt the still fragile economy," said Saktiandi Supaat, head of FX research for Maybank in Singapore.

Financial bookmakers expected major European indexes .FTSE .GDAXI .FCHI to open steady to slightly softer.

US crude prices added 0.5 percent to $94.5 a barrel, recouping some of the previous session's 0.8 percent decline following a weekend deal between the West and Tehran to halt Iran's most sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for some relief from sanctions.

Brent crude prices weakened 0.1 percent after ending almost flat on Monday from a slide of as much as 2.7 percent.

"The interim six-month 'freeze' agreement just reached on Iran's nuclear program should not have any impact on oil prices, aside from short-term sentiment, because core sanctions on oil and banking have not been touched," Societe Generale said in a note.

"We see a greater than 50 percent chance that a comprehensive agreement will be successfully reached within six months.

"If and when that happens, it could take Iran three to nine months to recover the one million barrels per day in production lost since 2011."

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS advanced 0.3 percent, building on a 0.3 percent rise in the previous session and breaking above its 50-day moving average.

Tokyo's Nikkei benchmark .N225 bucked the region and eased 0.4 percent on the back of the yen's modest recovery. The benchmark climbed 1.5 percent on Monday to within sight of a 5-1/2 year peak reached in May.

Jakarta stocks .JKSE shed 1 percent, while the Indonesian rupiah dropped 0.4 percent to 11,785 to a dollar, its lowest since March 2009, with traders citing dollar demand for month-end debt payments and repatriation.

 

 

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