Global Shares Mostly Rebound Tuesday   03/24 04:43

   Global benchmarks mostly rebounded Tuesday, in a mood of cautious relief 
after President Donald Trump said the United States has talked with Iran about 
a possible end to their war.

   TOKYO (AP) -- Global benchmarks mostly rebounded Tuesday, in a mood of 
cautious relief after President Donald Trump said the United States has talked 
with Iran about a possible end to their war.

   France's CAC 40 gained 0.4% in early trading to 7,759.97, while the German 
DAX edged up 0.2% to 22,695.54. Britain's FTSE 100 inched up less than 0.1% to 
9,899.12. U.S. shares were set to be little changed, with Dow futures up less 
than 0.1% at 46,536.00. S&P 500 futures were also virtually unchanged, 
declining less than 0.1% to 6,634.50.

   In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 1.4% to finish at 52,252.28, 
recovering some of the losses it suffered the previous day.

   Toyota Motor Corp.'s stock price gained 0.6% after it announced overnight 
that it was investing $1 billion in its Kentucky and Indiana auto plants. 
That's part of a plan to invest up to $10 billion in the U.S. over the next 
five years that the Japanese automaker announced in November. Japanese 
manufacturers have been eager to show their contribution to American jobs and 
economic growth.

   Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2% to 8,379.40. South Korea's Kospi edged up 
2.7% to 5,553.92. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2.8% to 25,063.71, while the 
Shanghai Composite added 1.8% to 3,881.28.

   Global markets have been on a roller-coaster ride over worries about the war 
in Iran, which began in late February, especially nations in Asia, which are 
severely affected by any lack of access to the Strait of Hormuz, crucial for 
energy shipments from the Middle East.

   In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude gained $1.34 to $89.47 a barrel. 
Brent crude the international standard, added $1.00 to $100.94 a barrel, 
reversing course after easing overnight on Wall Street. That came after Trump 
said the U.S. and Iran held productive talks "regarding a complete and total 
resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East" over the last two days.

   Iran denied such talks took place and Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad 
Bagher Qalibaf said that "fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil 
markets" in a post on X.

   "Still, while there's clearly a long way to go until some sort of ceasefire 
is agreed, and peace restored, we do at least seem to have taken the first step 
towards those ends." said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at 
Pepperstone.

   In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 158.55 Japanese yen from 
158.35 yen. The euro cost $1.15941, down from $1.1610.