Oil surges as Trump sanctions Rosneft, Lukoil

Oil prices jumped more than 2 percent on Thursday after President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Russian energy firms Rosneft and Lukoil Oil following stalled peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin. The measures came after planned talks in Budapest collapsed this week, prompting Trump to express frustration that discussions with the Russian leader produce no results. Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude climbed to two-week highs as the European Union announced parallel restrictions aimed at pressuring Moscow to end its invasion of Ukraine.

Asian stock markets fell sharply as technology-sector concerns persisted from Wall Street losses and reports emerged of potential American software export controls targeting China. Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Sydney declined while gold recovered slightly to $4,075 per ounce from earlier selloffs. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said all options remain under consideration for limiting Chinese access to software-enabled products such as laptops and aircraft engines. Markets remain uncertain whether Trump will meet his Chinese counterpart at next week’s APEC summit in South Korea amid escalating trade tensions between the superpowers.