Oil steady as Treasury chief warns of retaliation over Iran

Asian benchmarks traded in a narrow range Tuesday, with most regional markets lower a day after U.S. stocks finished mixed. The modest moves came ahead of potentially market-moving events later in the week, the Associated Press reported from Bangkok.

U.S. futures were nearly unchanged. Oil prices were little changed after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced fresh sanctions against Iran and warned that countries persisting in doing business with the Islamic Republic would face retaliation.

U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish Monday, leaving the S&P 500 at 7,652.86 and the Nasdaq Composite at 25,980.19. Also on Monday, areas of the bond market that the U.S. Treasury Department has been trying to calm eased a bit, relieving pressure on stocks.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.4% to 65,811.19, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.4% to 6,675.88.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.3% to 25,453.19, and the Shanghai Composite edged 0.1% lower, to 3,878.38. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6% to 9,158.70.

Taiwan’s Taiex edged less than 0.1% lower, and India’s Sensex lost 0.3%.