Wednesday Mar 25, 2026
Wednesday Mar 25, 2026
Tuesday, 24 March 2026 03:28 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Stock markets in the Asia Pacific have fallen sharply amid US President Donald Trump’s ultimatum warning Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the annihilation of its energy infrastructure.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s KOSPI plunged 4% and 4.5%, respectively, in early trading on Monday.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index tumbled about 2%.
Australia’s ASX 200 dropped about 1.6%, while the NZX 50 in New Zealand dipped about 1.3%.
Futures on Wall Street, which are traded outside of regular market hours, saw moderate losses, with those tied to the S&P500 and the Nasdaq Composite down about 0.5%.
Oil prices remained volatile amid fears of further disruption to global energy supplies.
Futures for Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose more than 1.5% to top $ 114 a barrel, before easing to about $ 112 as of 02:00 GMT.
Trump on Saturday threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants within 48 hours if Tehran does not end its effective blockade of the strait, through which about one-fifth of global oil and natural gas exports usually transit.
Tehran has pledged to completely close the waterway, which is still being transited by a small number of Chinese, Indian and Pakistani-flagged vessels, and launch retaliatory attacks on energy and water infrastructure across the region if Trump follows through on his threat.
Trump’s threat has added to fears of a cascading global energy crisis as the US and Israel’s war on Iran approaches the one-month mark with no clear end in sight.
Oil prices have surged more than 50% since the start of the war, which began with US-Israeli strikes on 28 February.
Analysts have warned that energy prices are likely to rise significantly further if the strait remains effectively closed, with some observers predicting oil to hit $ 150 or even $ 200 a barrel.
