Iran rejects Trump’s “false statements” on Strait of Hormuz as he says talks “going very well”

World shares mostly fell and oil gained again on Friday after Wall Street had its worst day since the start of the Iran war over growing doubts about a de-escalation.

In early European trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3% to 9,939.96. France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.7% to 7,718.97, and Germany’s DAX lost 1.3% to 22,314.28.

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.4% lower at 53,373.07. South Korea’s Kospi also lost 0.4% to 5,438.87, narrowing the sharp drop earlier in the day at trading close.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.4% to 24,951.88 after dipping earlier in the day, while the Shanghai Composite index traded 0.6% higher at 3,913.72.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1% to 8,516.30.

Taiwan’s Taiex was 0.7% lower, while India’s Sensex lost 2.1%.

On Thursday, Wall Street fell to its worst drop since the Iran war began, with the S&P 500 sinking 1.7% for its worst day since January to 6,477.16. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1% to 45,960.11. The Nasdaq composite slumped 2.4% to 21,408.08, and is off 10% below its recent all-time high in what is considered a “correction.”

Expectations this week of de-escalation negotiations between Washington and Tehran have sent markets into disarray.

Shortly after Wall Street trading closed Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was postponing a threatened attack on Iran’s energy facilities as he further delayed until April 6 a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for oil and gas transport.

U.S. futures were mostly unchanged on Friday.