Asian Markets A Sea Of Red

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are a seal of red on Monday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, as traders remain cautious and concerned about the escalating war in the Middle East in to the fifth week and its impact on energy prices, inflation, economic growth and monetary policy. Iran-backed Houthi militants entered the Middle East war, stoking fears of a protracted conflict. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Friday.

Iran's military asserted taking full control of the Strait of Hormuz, and warned of "harsh response" if any vessel attempts to pass through the channel.

US President Donald Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social that negotiations with Iran are "going very well," although Iranian state media has said Tehran "responded negatively" to a U.S. peace proposal. Tehran rebutted the U.S. president's fifteen-point ceasefire proposal and responded with conditions of its own.

Israel continued its military offensives against Iran despite diplomatic measures by the U.S. to contain the situation. Iranian steelmakers Khouzestan Steel and Mobarakeh Steel were hit by air strikes that damaged power infrastructure and storage facilities. In retaliation, Iran has vowed strikes targeting a list of steel plants in Kuwait, U.A.E., Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar.

The Australian stock market is sharply lower on Monday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling to near the 8,400.00 level, with weakness across most sectors led by technology and financial stocks. Energy stocks are the only bright spot on surging crude oil prices amid the expanding Middle-East conflict.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 112.90 points or 1.33 percent to 8,403.40, after hitting a low of 8,379.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 114.80 points or 1.32 percent to 8,598.00. Australian stocks closed slightly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, Mineral Resources is declining more than 3 percent and BHP Group is edging down 0.4 percent, while Rio Tinto is gaining almost 2 percent and Fortescue is adding 1.5 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is advancing more than 4 percent, Woodside Energy is gaining almost 3 percent and Santos is adding almost 2 percent, while Origin Energy is up almost 2 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is tumbling almost 7 percent. WiseTech Global and Xero are declining almost 5 percent each, while Zip and Appen is slipping more than 5 percent.

Gold miners are mixed. Northern Star Resources is gaining almost 3 percent, while Resolute Mining and Evolution Mining are edging up 0.4 percent each. Newmont is losing almost 1 percent and Genesis Minerals is declining almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are losing more than 3 percent each, while Westpac is tumbling almost 5 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.686 on Monday.

The Japanese stock market is trading sharply lower on Monday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, with the Nikkei 225 tumbling 4.6 percent to below the 50,950 level, with weakness across all sectors led by index heavyweights, exporters and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 50,936.13, down 2,436.94 points or 4.57 percent, after hitting a low of 50,566.99 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly lower on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is tumbling almost 10 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is declining more than 4 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing more than 3 percent and Toyota is slipping more than 5 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is tumbling almost 7 percent, Screen Holdings is sliding almost 6 percent and Tokyo Electron is declining more than 3 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is slipping almost 4 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is declining more than 3 percent and Mizuho Financial is sliding more than 4 percent.

The major exporters are lower. Panasonic is losing almost 4 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is slipping almost 6 percent, Sony is losing almost 2 percent and Canon is declining almost 3 percent.

Among the other major losers, Yokohama Rubber and Ibiden are tumbling almost 8 percent each, while IHI and Socionext are sliding more than 7 percent each. Renesas Electronics, Resonac Holdings and Taiyo Yuden are slipping almost 7 percent each, while TDK, Ryohin Keikaku, Hitachi, Murata Manufacturing, Mitsubishi Motors and Yaskawa Electric are declining more than 6 percent each.

Conversely, there are no other major gainers.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 159 yen-range on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is tumbling 3.7 percent, while New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia are lower by between 1.4 and 2.0 percent each. China and Singapore are down 0.8 and 0.3 percent, respectively.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Friday, adding to the steep losses posted in the previous session. The major averages moved to the downside early in the session and slid even more firmly into negative territory as the day progressed.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the end of the day but still posted steep losses. The Nasdaq plunged 459.72 points or 2.2 percent to 20,948.36, the Dow tumbled 793.47 points or 1.7 percent to 45,166.64 and the S&P 500 slumped 108.31 points or 1.7 percent to 6,368.85.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. The German DAX Index slumped by 1.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Friday after Iran shut down reports of peace talks for the ongoing conflict. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $5.32 or 5.63 percent at $99.80 per barrel.