Asia shares mixed, oil advances on US-Iran deadlock

Asia shares struggled on Friday and oil prices resumed their rise, as a shaky ceasefire in the Middle East war and stalled ​US-Iran peace talks gave investors little to cheer. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3% and was set to end ‌the week with a 0.8% gain, while Japan’s Nikkei added 0.45% and stocks in South Korea, China and Hong Kong fell. Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures advanced 0.6% and 0.1%, respectively, after closing lower in the cash session overnight, while EUROSTOXX 50 futures were down 0.65% and FTSE futures fell 0.9%. The mixed showing underscored the tense market mood as investors this week seesawed ​between hope for an imminent end to the war and fear that it might not come soon.