Oil rises and Asian stocks fall after Trump says US will hit Iran hard and ‘finish the job’

HONG KONG (AP) — Oil rose more than 4% and Asian stocks fell after U.S. President Donald Trump said in his first national address since the Iran war began that the U.S. will continue to hit Iran very hard.

Trump also said in his Wednesday night speech that the United States will “finish the job” in Iran soon as “core strategic objectives are nearing completion” and military operations could wrap up soon.

Trump did not mention a looming deadline he set for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway for global oil and gas transport, after he threatened Iran earlier with U.S. attacks on its energy infrastructure if the strait was not reopened. He did not offer a clear path to end the supply disruptions that have sent energy prices soaring.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was down 1.4% to 53,004.81 in early Asia trading on Thursday. South Korea’s Kospi lost 3.4% to 5,292.36. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.8% to 25,082.59.

U.S. futures were down more than 0.9%.

Oil prices were sharply higher following Trump’s remarks. Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 5% to $106.22 per barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 4.2% to $104.36 a barrel.

Gold prices fell 2% to $4,718.90 per ounce.

Renewed optimism on Wednesday for a possible end to the Iran war pushed world stocks higher, after Trump said late Tuesday the U.S. military could end its offensive in two to three weeks.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 added 0.7% to 6,575.32. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 46,565.74, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.2% to 21,840.95.

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Associated Press writers Stan Choe and Matthew Daly contributed to this report.