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Asian shares fell on Monday (March 23, 2026) as oil costs continued to rise after US President Donald Trump’s newest feedback dashed hopes for a fast finish to the Iran warfare.
South Korea’s Kospi plunged 6.5% to five,404.77. Hong Kong’s Cling Seng Index fell 4.0% to 24,279.23, and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 3.7% to three,811.62.
Over the weekend, Trump threatened to “destroy” Iran’s energy crops if america didn’t totally open the Strait of Hormuz inside 48 hours, and Tehran stated it could reply to such an assault with assaults on American and Israeli vitality infrastructure property within the area.
“President Trump’s ultimatum and Iran’s menace of retaliation sign an escalation of the battle, with no clear exit in sight, with vitality disruption and market volatility persevering with to rise,” stated Ng Jing Wen, an analyst at Mizuho Financial institution in Singapore.
The rise in oil costs additionally shocked inventory markets on Friday, dashing hopes of a doable future fee minimize by the U.S. Federal Reserve, analysts stated.
Earlier than the warfare, merchants anticipated the Fed to chop rates of interest a minimum of twice this yr. Central banks in Europe, Japan and the UK additionally not too long ago left rates of interest on maintain.
In vitality buying and selling, benchmark US crude oil added $1.76 to $99.99 per barrel. Brent crude, the worldwide commonplace crude, rose $1.15 to $113.34 per barrel. The value of Brent crude has not too long ago zigzagged up from round $70 a barrel earlier than the warfare started, reaching a peak of $119.50.
Within the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield ended final week at 4.38% on Friday, up from 4.2% late Thursday and from simply 3.97% earlier than the warfare began.
The 2-year Treasury yield, which extra precisely displays the Fed’s coverage expectations, rose to three.88% from 3.79%.
In overseas trade buying and selling, the greenback rose from 159.22 yen to 159.53 yen. The euro fell to $1.1526 from $1.1571.
