Asian Markets Tumble Amid Middle-east War

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are tumbling on Monday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, as traders remain cautious and concerned about the fallout of the intensifying war in the Middle East in to the fourth week. Soaring crude oil prices continued to fuel global inflation and economic growth concerns, reinforcing a hawkish tilt among major central banks. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Friday.

As the conflict entered its fourth week, Washington and Tehran have traded fresh threats following a wave of damaging Iranian strikes on Israel. Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment facility was hit in an airstrike Saturday. Two Iranian strikes on towns near Israel's main nuclear research center injured more than 100 people.

Tensions in the Middle East persisted after US President Trump threatened to "hit and obliterate" Iranian power facilities if Tehran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while Tehran responded with warnings that any attacks on the country's power plants would "immediately" be met with retaliatory strikes on energy and oil infrastructure across the region.

The Australian stock market notably 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 well below the 8,400.00 level, with weakness across most sectors led by gold miners and technology stocks. Energy stocks are the only bright spot amid spiking crude oil prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 56.30 points or 0.67 percent to 8,372.10, after hitting a low of 8,262.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 69.60 points or 0.81 percent to 8,558.70. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are losing almost 2 percent each, while Mineral Resources is slipping more than 3 percent and Fortescue is declining almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is gaining more than 2 percent and Woodside Energy is edging up 0.4 percent, while Origin Energy and Santos are adding almost 1 percent each. Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 2 percent and Zip is gaining almost 3 percent, while WiseTech Global is sliding more than 4 percent, Appen is declining more than 3 percent and Xero is edging down 0.2 percent.

Gold miners are lower. Northern Star Resources is slipping more than 5 percent, Resolute Mining is tumbling more than 7 percent and Genesis Minerals is declining almost 5 percent, while Newmont and Evolution Mining are sliding more than 6 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while National Australia Bank is declining more than 1 percent. In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.678 on Monday.

The Japanese stock market is trading sharply lower on Monday, reversing the losses in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, with the Nikkei 225 plunging 3.4 percent to below the 51,600 level, with strong losses across most sectors led by exporters, technology and financial stocks amid the escalating war in the Middle East.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 51,582.23, down 1,790.30 points or 3.35 percent, after hitting a low of 50,688.76 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Thursday ahead of the holiday on Friday.

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

In the tech space, Advantest is plunging almost 7 percent, Screen Holdings is tumbling more than 6 percent and Tokyo Electron are sliding more than 4 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is declining almost 4 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is plunging almost 6 percent and Mizuho Financial is sliding almost 5 percent.

The major exporters are lower. Mitsubishi Electric is tumbling more than 7 percent, Canon is down almost 2 percent, Sony is losing more than 2 percent and Panasonic is sliding almost 6 percent.

Among the other major losers, Mitsui Kinzoku and Renesas Electronics are plunging more than 9 percent each, while Mitsubishi Materials and Sumitomo Electric Industries are tumbling almost 9 percent each. Ebara, Dowa Holdings, Lasertec, Resonac Holdings and Sumitomo Metal Mining are sliding almost 8 percent each, while Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ibiden, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Shin-Etsu Chemical and Mitsui Chemicals are slipping more than 7 percent each. Murata Manufacturing is declining almost 7 percent.

Conversely, there are no other major gainers.

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

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is tumbling 5.5 percent, while Hong Kong and Taiwan are slipping 3.2 and 2.8 percent, respectively. China and Singapore are down 1.9 and 2.0 percent, respectively. New Zealand is down 0.6 percent. Malaysia and Indonesia are closed for Eid-ul-Fitr.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower during trading on Friday, extending the slump seen over the two previous sessions. With the extended nosedive, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 plunged to their lowest closing levels in over six months. The Dow and the Nasdaq dipped into contraction territory, reflecting a 10 percent plunge from their latest highs, before regaining some ground going into the end the day.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way lower, plummeting 443.08 points or 2.0 percent to 21,647.61, while the S&P 500 tumbled 100.01 points or 1.5 percent to 6,506.48 and the Dow slumped 443.96 points or 1.0 percent to 45,577.47.

The major European markets all also showed significant moves to the downside on the day. The German DAX Index dove by 2.0 percent, the French CAC 40 Index plunged by 1.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index tumbled by 1.4 percent.

Crude oil prices surged on Friday as fresh attacks on Kuwait by Iran renewed concerns of a prolonged gulf war, stoking production disruption worries. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up by $1.68 or 1.75 percent at $97.82 per barrel.