Worst,” “Plunge,” “Record,” “Shocking” might work. Let me check the original title: “Asian Stocks Worst Session in Years as War Enters Second Week.

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Asian Stocks Worst Session in Years as War Enters Second Week

Asian stock markets experienced significant declines on Monday, some of the largest they’ve seen in years. This drop coincided with a surge in oil prices, exceeding $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022. Increased tensions related to the conflict in Iran prompted investors to favor the dollar and sell off riskier investments, like cryptocurrencies.

Recent market declines suggest investors are bracing for a long-lasting conflict. With shipping through the Strait of Hormuz disrupted and Iranian attacks increasing in the Gulf region, experts believe current price drops may not fully reflect the potential risks.

Stocks Slide Across the Region

Asian markets experienced significant declines early in the day, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropping 6.2% and South Korea’s Kospi falling 6.3% due to losses in major tech companies like Samsung and SK Hynix. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also decreased, falling 3.3%. These losses are expected to impact US markets, as futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both fell, dropping 1.6% and up to 2% respectively.

Oil prices jumped sharply in early Asian trading, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) reaching $111 a barrel and Brent crude trading near $110 – levels not seen since early 2022. This increase follows continued disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and production cuts by Gulf oil producers. For a more detailed analysis of the oil market, please see our separate report.

Geopolitical Backdrop Darkens

Over the weekend, Iran launched attacks on several Gulf countries, including Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain, using missiles and drones. The United States responded by having non-essential embassy staff leave Saudi Arabia. On Monday, Iran began directly targeting Israel with missile strikes, marking the first attacks under its new leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. President Trump warned that these attacks would likely continue until Iran gives up or is defeated.

Dollar Gains, Crypto Slides

As a crypto investor, I’m keeping a close eye on traditional markets, and things are looking a bit risk-off right now. The US Dollar is getting stronger, up almost 0.7% to around 99.67, as people flock to it during times of uncertainty, especially with inflation still a worry and energy prices disrupted. That strength is putting pressure on assets that don’t pay out income, like gold, which dropped over 2% to $5,056. We’re also seeing bond yields creep up – the 10-year Treasury is now at 4.19% – suggesting investors are anticipating higher interest rates for a longer period. This could definitely impact crypto, so it’s something I’m watching closely.

As a researcher tracking the crypto market, I’ve observed a recent downturn, with Bitcoin falling 1.4% to $66,374 and Ether dropping 1.1% to $1,950. This seems to be part of a wider trend of investors pulling back from riskier assets. Interestingly, the US dollar is currently benefiting from the current global instability, largely because it’s seen as a safe place to invest, and the US actually exports more energy than it imports. How much further the dollar strengthens will likely depend on the duration of the ongoing conflict.

American employers cut 92,000 jobs last month, a surprisingly large drop not seen since the start of the pandemic. This adds to concerns about stagflation – a combination of slow economic growth and rising prices – at a time when the economy is already weak.

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2026-03-09 04:41