Asian Stocks Fall, Oil Retreats Amid US-Iran Tensions

Asian stocks fell Tuesday, mirroring losses on Wall Street after U.S. indexes pulled back from recent record highs, while oil prices retreated following a spike driven by renewed tensions in the U.S.-Iran war.

Trading volume remained light across the region, with markets in Japan, South Korea and mainland China closed for holidays. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 1.1 percent to 25,805.98. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.5 percent to 8,649.80, and Taiwan's Taiex edged down 0.2 percent to 40,626.22. U.S. stock futures rose slightly by 0.1 percent.

The previous session saw Wall Street close lower, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.4 percent from record levels to 7,200.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1 percent to 48,941.90, and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.2 percent to 25,067.80. Among individual movers, GameStop shares plunged 10.1 percent after the company announced plans to acquire eBay, whose market value is about four times larger.

Oil prices eased after surging the prior day on escalating conflict. Brent crude, the global benchmark, settled 1.22 dollars lower at 113.22 dollars per barrel after climbing nearly 6 percent to above 114 dollars on Monday. Benchmark...