Stocks advance, oil retreats as Trump rules out pre-vote Iran attack - Yahoo News Singapore

Global equities moved higher while crude oil prices pulled back after President Donald Trump indicated the United States would not launch a military strike on Iran before the upcoming vote. The shift in expectations eased one of the geopolitical risk premiums that had been building in energy markets, and investors rotated back toward risk assets.

Oil's retreat reflects how sensitive crude prices are to Middle East supply concerns. When the threat of conflict appears to recede, the risk of disruption to production and shipping routes is priced lower, which can weigh on benchmarks. Equity markets, by contrast, often read reduced geopolitical tension as a modest tailwind, since it lowers uncertainty for businesses and consumers.

What to watch: whether the de-escalation holds, and whether any renewed rhetoric reverses the move. Traders will also monitor upcoming inventory data and demand signals, since those fundamentals ultimately anchor crude prices beyond short-term headlines. For now, the reaction underscores how quickly markets can reprice when a feared event is taken off the table.