Iran-Israel conflict: Oil prices resume upward climb, Asian stocks mixed amid Israel's 'evacuate' warning to residents of Tehran

Oil prices resumed their upward climb and US futures were lower early Tuesday after Israel's military issued an "evacuation warning" for Iran's capital Tehran amid continuing military hostilities between the two Asian rivals.The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.3 per cent.In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.6 per cent to 38,547.56 as the Japanese central bank opted to keep its key interest rate unchanged at 0.5 per cent.Chinese shares edged lower, as the Shanghai Composite index declined 0.2 per cent to 3,382.14. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng slipped 0.1 per cent to 24,038.56, while South Korea's Kospi gained 0.4 per cent to 2,956.88.Taiwan's Taiex also gained, rising 0.6 per cent, and in Bangkok the SET was little changed.Meanwhile, in Australia, the S&P/ASX 500 gave up 0.1 per cent to 8,543.60.Israel-Iran conflict to cause spike in global gasoline prices?As Israel and Iran attack each other, the fear remains that a wider war could limit the flow of Iran's oil to its customers. That in turn could raise gasoline prices worldwide and keep them high, though spikes in prices from previous conflicts have been brief.

Crude jumped 7 per cent late last week after Israel's attack on Iranian nuclear and military targets. Early Tuesday, US benchmark crude oil gained 31 cents to $72.08 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, was up 33 cents at $73.56 per barrel.Israel's latest evacuation warning was for a part of Tehran, a city of 9.5 million which houses the Islamic Republic's state TV, city police headquarters and three large hospitals, including one owned by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

US President Donald Trump announced he was returning from the G7 summit in Canada a day early due to the intensifying conflict.Not the only concern for investorsHowever, investors have other concerns as well, key among them Trump's tariffs, which still threaten to slow the American economy and raise inflation if Washington doesn't win trade deals with other countries.The spectre of tariffs was looming over the meeting of the Group of Seven meeting of major economies in Canada.Additionally, on Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve is set to discuss whether to lower or raise interest rates.(With AP inputs)