Asia-Pacific markets fell on Monday as investors weighed higher oil prices and the latest developments in the escalating conflict between the US and Iran.
US crude oil prices have topped $100 a barrel as the Trump administration considers military strikes on Tehran’s Kharg Island, a strategically important hub often referred to as Iran’s “oil heartland”.
U.S. crude was trading flat at $98.7 a barrel by 8:10 p.m. ET. Brent prices, the international benchmark, rose 0.48% to $103.7 per barrel.
President Donald Trump on Friday ordered strikes on Iranian military assets on Kharg Island and warned of further attacks on crude oil facilities located there. Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, repeated the warning on Sunday.
Goldman Sachs estimates that a spike in energy prices stemming from the Iran war could reduce global GDP by about 0.3% over the next year, while raising headline inflation by roughly 0.5% to 0.6%.
Higher natural gas prices are expected to add to inflationary pressures and dampen growth, especially in Europe and Asia, with risks pointing to greater impacts if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, the bank wrote in a note on Sunday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.3%, while the CSI 300 fell 0.31%, even as Chinese consumption and production beat expectations on holiday spending and strong demand side, SEEbiz reports.
Retail sales in the first two months of the year rose 2.8% year-on-year, beating economists’ forecast of 2.5% growth, but a significant slowdown from the 4% growth in the January-February 2025 period.
Industrial production rose 6.3%, also beating expectations for a 5% jump in a Reuters poll. Industrial production was a relatively bright spot in the world’s second-largest economy, thanks to resilient external demand, particularly from European and Southeast Asian countries.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.07%, while the Topix slipped 0.98%. South Korea’s Kospi was unchanged, while the Kosdaq fell 1.72%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.44%.
Bitcoin rose more than 3% to $73,844.20, while ether jumped 6% to $2,263.93. Bitcoin was up 5% last week, and since the start of the war with Iran on February 28, it’s up roughly 10%.
