Crude prices fall after Syrian strikes avoid conflict

Oil Prices were down yesterday amid relief that no conflict came as a result of the US led airstrikes in Syria, easing worries over the security of future crude supplies.

Russia’s calm attitude post the strikes in Syria, strong retail sentiment and optimism over earnings all helped markets ease upwards.

"The limited and targeted strikes in Syria that provoked no serious response from Russia were a relief to markets that were pricing in escalation," said a trader dealing equities markets.

European markets were down, however, on the back of major EU currencies strengthened against dollar.

US, UK, and France led coalition carried out attacks in Syria after the alleged chemical weapons attack on civilians including children made headlines around the globe.

"We can understand why the oil price has tended to fall rather than gain today in response to the West's military strike against Syria," a commodities analysts said in a note.

"After all, the tough response announced by Russia has failed to materialize," they said.

Drawing the line -

The commodity Index

The commodities index FTSE-100 in UK fell as oil prices dipped, and shares prices of BP and Shell also fell.

Also weighing on the FTSE 100 index was a strong pound which hit the share prices of multinationals earning large amounts in other currencies.

London and Frankfurt fell, while Paris reported modest gain.

US stocks finished solidly higher, boosted by optimism over the upcoming earnings period, as well relief over Syria and a better-than-expected retail sales report.

WPP tumbles

British advertising and marketing group WPP topped the FTSE losers after chief executive Martin Sorrell resigned over the weekend.

Sorrell's departure came 10 days after WPP launched an independent probe into allegations of his personal misconduct through the misuse of company assets.

Shares of WPP fell 4.7 percent in New York after falling sharply in London earlier.

Among US stocks, Bank of America climbed 0.4 percent after reporting a 34.2 percent jump in first-quarter profits to $6.5 billion on a strong performance in key businesses thanks in part to a lift from higher interest rates.

Pharmacy stocks Walgreens Boots Alliance and CVS Health won 3.8 percent and 4.2 percent respectively following a report on CNBC that Amazon was abandoning a plan to sell drugs to hospital.

Key figures

Oil - Brent North Sea: DOWN $1.16 at $71.42 per barrel

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN $1.17 at $66.22 per barrel

New York - Dow: UP 0.9 percent at 24,573.04 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.8 percent at 2,677.84 (close)

New York - NASDAQ: UP 0.7 percent at 7,156.28 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.9 percent at 7,198.20 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.4 percent at 12,391.41 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 5,312.96 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,441.27 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 21,835.53 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 1.6 percent at 30,315.59 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.5 percent at 3,110.65 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.2380 from $1.2331 at 2100 GMT

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 107.11 yen from 107.35

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.4341 from $1.4238