Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

Crude oil held its gains as the US and Iran exchanged fire, jolting a four-week-old ceasefire and raising concerns that Middle East tensions could escalate again. Brent edged 0.5% lower to just under $114 a barrel at the open Tuesday as escalating tensions around the Strait of Hormuz raised fears about high energy prices and global inflation. Australian shares opened lower, with markets closed in Japan, South Korea and mainland China. US equity-index futures were little changed after the S&P 500 Index retreated from its record on Monday. We spoke to Paul Dobson, Bloomberg's Executive Editor for Asia Markets.

And for more on the markets, we heard from Kyle Rodda, Senior Market Analyst at Capital.com speaking to Bloomberg TV hosts Paul Allen and Shery Ahn.

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