- East Timor fights new battles 25 years after independence vote
- Oil prices drop on easing fears over Middle East, most markets rise
- Reoxygenating oceans: startups lead the way in Baltic Sea
- King Charles III heads to Australia and Commonwealth meeting
- Wall Street stocks hit fresh records as oil prices slide
- Strike-hit Boeing leaves experts puzzled by strategy
- NASA launches probe to study if life possible on icy Jupiter moon
- EVs seek to regain sales momentum at Paris Motor Show
- NASA probe Europa Clipper lifts off for Jupiter's icy moon
- 'Unsustainable' housing crisis bedevils Spain's socialist govt
- Stocks shrug off China disappointment but oil slides
- Stocks diverge, oil retreats as China disappoints markets
- Trio wins economics Nobel for work on wealth inequality
- Ex-Stasi officer jailed over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as markets rally
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as Asian markets rally
- Nearly 90, but opera legend Kabaivanska is still calling tune
- With inflation down, ECB eyes faster tempo of rate cuts
- Is life possible on a Jupiter moon? NASA goes to investigate
- Ex-Stasi officer faces verdict over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Role of government, poverty research tipped for economics Nobel
- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- In a first, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
Oil prices drop on easing fears over Middle East, most markets rise
Oil prices extended losses Tuesday after a report said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told US President Joe Biden he would not strike Iran's crude or nuclear facilities in retaliation for a missile attack earlier this month.
The sell-off came as the commodity is hit by worries about China's economic outlook after Beijing failed to announce any new stimulus at a weekend briefing, nor provide details on a raft of measures unveiled at the end of last month.
However, equity traders were broadly upbeat, pushing most Asian markets higher after another record close for the Dow and S&P 500 on Wall Street, with the third-quarter reporting season about to get under way.
Both main oil contracts dropped around three percent in early exchanges -- having lost at least two percent Monday -- after the Washington Post reported that Netanyahu had pledged to target Iran's military rather than its crude and nuclear sector.
Investors have been on edge since Tehran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel at the start of the month, fuelling concerns of a response that could spark a region-wide conflict.
The commodity has swung wildly in recent weeks after Tel Aviv opened a new front against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, while also continuing its battle against Hamas in Gaza.
Netanyahu on Monday vowed to hit Hezbollah without mercy, a day after the Iran-backed group's deadliest strike on Israel since the start of their war in late September.
Adding to the downward pressure on oil is concern that China would struggle to reignite the world's second-biggest economy after a much-anticipated news conference on Saturday left investors wanting.
There had been hope Finance Minister Lan Fo'an would unveil a multi-billion-dollar package of support including fiscal help to go alongside measures announced in September that largely focused on the troubled property sector.
The disappointment, which came after another briefing that fell short last Tuesday, has dampened a rally on Chinese markets, with Hong Kong and Shanghai paring the blockbuster surge that greeted the initial batch of stimulus.
Weaker-than-expected trade and inflation data for September highlighted the need for economic help, though analysts warned they did not see any details being released until an upcoming Communist Party meeting that has yet to be set.
Key data later in the week, including on retail sales, trade and economic growth, could provide a fresh update on the state of the country's finances.
"Everywhere you look, China is in desperate need for fiscal support, with very weak domestic demand alongside an economy facing deflationary pressures and softer global demand," said Rodrigo Catril at National Australia Bank.
Shares in Shanghai and Hong Kong fell Tuesday, though there were gains in Tokyo as traders there returned from a three-day weekend to push the Nikkei 225 above 40,000 points for the first time since July.
Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta also rose.
- Key figures around 0230 GMT -
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 3.1 percent at $71.51 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 3.0 percent at $75.13 per barrel
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.7 percent at 20,940.20
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 3,269.34
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.6 percent at 40,232.45 (break)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0905 from $1.0911 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3065 from $1.3060
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 149.65 yen from 149.74 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.47 pence from 83.51 pence
New York - Dow: UP 0.5 percent at 43,065.22 points (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,292.66 (close)
D.Avraham--CPN