Asian shares mixed after Wall St falls; oil prices fall back

Stocks were mixed Thursday in Asia following a retreat on Wall Street as crude oil prices rose sharply.

Tokyo and Shanghai were lower while Hong Kong and Sydney edged higher. U.S. futures rose and U.S. benchmark crude oil fell back.

After a rally last week, markets have been up and down this week as investors weigh concerns about rising inflation and slower economic growth.

Russia was to reopen its stock market for limited trading on Thursday nearly one month after shares plunged and the exchange was shut down following the invasion of Ukraine.

There will be heavy restrictions on trading to prevent the kind of massive selloff that took place in anticipation of crushing financial and economic sanctions from Western nations. Foreign shareholders will be unable to sell shares — a restriction Russia put in place to counter Western sanctions against its financial system and the weakening ruble.

Trading will be allowed in 33 of the 50 companies that are part of the country’s benchmark MOEX index, including air carrier Aeroflot, state-owned gas producer Gazprom and the oil company Rosneft, according to a central bank announcement about the reopening.

Investors are watching to see the outcome of meetings of NATO and a European leaders summit Thursday, where President Joe Biden will huddle with key allies to discuss imposing punishing new sanctions on Russia; and dealing with the extraordinary humanitarian crisis due to its invasion of Ukraine and working on a consensus on how to respond if Russia were to launch a cyber, chemical or even nuclear attack.

The attack on Ukraine has pushed already surging energy and other commodity prices even higher.

“Pressure points are building again with oil back on the boil, resulting in stagflation weighing on sentiment again," Stephen...