Oil prices climbed and stocks slid Tuesday as uncertainty reigned over US-Iranian peace talks resuming and the expiration of the two-week ceasefire in the Middle East loomed.
Investors had been hoping that despite hostile rhetoric there was scope for a deal to end the Middle East war and reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz to oil and gas shipments.
But Iran has not yet sent a delegation to neighbouring Pakistan for a new round of peace talks with the United States, even as the two-week ceasefire was set to expire by Wednesday.