Asian Shares Retreat Amid US-Iran War Escalation

(RTTNews) - Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Monday as rising energy risks amid escalating U.S.-Iran tensions rattled investors.

Oil prices headed for their biggest monthly rise ever as the Middle East conflict entered its fifth week with no clear resolution in sight.

Investors braced for a prolonged Gulf conflict after the Houthis joined the Iran war and additional U.S. troops arrived in the Middle East.

Gold reversed earlier losses to trade around $4,530 an ounce in Asian trade as the dollar softened ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech later in the day and a slew of key U.S. labor market data due this week.

Brent crude prices traded about 3 percent higher close to $116 per barrel after reports that the Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran.

There are fears that the Yemini Houthis may launch strikes on vessels transiting the Red Sea and key Saudi Arabian energy infrastructure.

China's Shanghai Composite index reversed an early slide to end 0.24 percent higher at 3,923.29 on expectations that a shift toward reflation may revive corporate earnings.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.81 percent to 24,750.79, dragged down by technology stocks as diplomatic tensions flared over Hong Kong security rules.

Japanese markets plummeted on stagflation fears as bond yields hit a 25-year high on rising BoJ rate-hike bets.

The Nikkei average slumped as much as 5.3 percent before recovering some lost ground to end 2.79 percent lower at 51,885.85. The broader Topix index settled 2.94 percent lower at 3,542.34.

Among the prominent decliners, SoftBank Group Corp plunged 6.3 percent, Ibiden lost 5.9 percent, Toyota Motor tumbled 4 percent and Hitachi gave up 3.4 percent.

Seoul stocks sank as crude prices extended their surge on supply disruption fears. The Kospi average ended down 2.97 percent at 5,277.30, extending losses for a third consecutive session.

Heavyweight shares fell on foreign selling, with Samsung Electronics losing 1.7 percent and SK Hynix plummeting 5.3 percent.

Australian markets ended notably lower, with financial and healthcare stocks leading losses. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 ended down 0.65 percent at 8,461, trimming early losses as energy and mining stocks gained strength.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index fell 1.44 percent to 12,748.92, extending losses from the prior session.

U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday, with all three major indexes marking their fifth consecutive weekly decline to hit their lowest closing levels in over eight months, as the surge in oil prices along with other products such as fertilizer as a result of the Iran war fanned inflation and growth fears.

A measure of U.S. consumer sentiment eased to a three-month low in March, and one-year consumer inflation expectations jumped to 3.8 percent, raising concerns about the economic outlook.

Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson said the Iran war has created new risks to both inflation and growth without specifying what it meant for monetary policy in the near term.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slumped 2.2 percent while the Dow and the S&P 500 both plunged by 1.7 percent, as Brent crude prices jumped back above $110 a barrel despite U.S. pause on energy strikes until April 6th.