Asia Markets Slide as Iran-US Tensions Push Oil Above $96
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- Asia-Pacific equities slid across the board, with South Korea's Kospi dropping 1.84% to 8,639.41 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 falling 1.88% to 8,686.10, tracking Wall Street's losses overnight.
- Oil prices spiked on the Middle East flare-up, with West Texas Intermediate gaining more than 2% to close at $96.02 and Brent crude advancing nearly 2% to settle at $97.81 per barrel.
- Iran struck Kuwait International Airport early Wednesday, hours after US Central Command said it had defeated multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones and launched self-defense strikes on Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf.
- Netanyahu told CNBC in an exclusive interview that Israel and the US are prepared to strike Iran again if needed, warning that Tehran is 'playing with fire.'
- Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.36% to 67,470.69 a day after hitting a record high, with SoftBank Group plunging more than 10% as Asia tech stocks sold off broadly.
- Mainland China's CSI 300 slipped 0.69% to 4,904.75 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.31%, while India's Nifty 50 was marginally higher and the BSE Sensex ended flat.
- US stock futures pointed lower Thursday, extending Wednesday's losses that saw the Dow drop 620.72 points, or 1.21%, to 50,687.07 and the S&P 500 fall 0.74% to 7,553.68.
Why it matters: With Iran striking a Gulf neighbor and Netanyahu publicly confirming readiness for further US-Israeli strikes, energy supply risk is no longer theoretical — WTI above $96 feeds directly into inflation assumptions that central banks track. Asian tech heavyweights like SoftBank (-10%) are now caught in the same risk-off move as energy-exposed markets, widening the conflict's investment footprint.
