Japan, South Korea stocks tumble over 6% as oil tops $100 amid broader Asia market rout
The fire that broke out in the Shahran oil depot following the US and Israeli attacks rendered many fuel tankers and vehicles unusable in the region of Tehran, Iran, on March 8, 2026.
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Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s kospi Both were down more than 6% in early trading Monday, sparking a broader regional selloff as oil prices surpassed $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022.
of japan Nikkei 225 It dropped 6.05%, falling below the 53,000 level for the first time since February 6, while Topix lost 5.27%.
Softbank Group Inc. Chip-related stocks were among the index’s biggest losers, down nearly 10%. cutting edge And Lazertec dropped by over 10% and 9% respectively.
South Korea’s Kospi triggers a rally with a 6.5% loss temporary trading halt For Kospi 200 futures. The circuit breaker was activated last week when the benchmark index fell more than 12% on Wednesday, its worst single-day decline.
Heavyweight Samsung Electronics lost 8.4%, while chip rival SK Hynix lost a larger 9.2%.
of Australia S&P/ASX 200 It was down 3.68% in early trading.
Brent futures It rose 16.1% to $107.61. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures It rose nearly 17.7% to $107.02.
This increase came after the Middle East’s leading oil producers, including Kuwait, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, cut oil production following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
However, US President Donald Trump stated on Truth Social that the increase in “short-term oil prices” was “a very small price to pay” for eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat.
“Only fools think differently!” Trump added.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index Futures traded at 25,328, below the index’s last close of 25,757.29.
US stock futures also fell due to higher oil prices; Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell more than 800 points, or 1.75%.
S&P 500 futures fell 1.59 percent and Nasdaq-100 futures fell 1.6 percent.
— CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.
