segunda-feira, 9 de março de 2026
Asian markets tumbled on Monday as Middle East tensions and spiking oil prices sparked a mass exit from the region’s previously booming stocks.
.jpeg)
Asian
markets tumbled on Monday as Middle East tensions and spiking oil prices
sparked a mass exit from the region’s previously booming stocks.
Asian
stock markets experienced a severe downturn on Monday, March 9, 2026, as an
intensifying conflict in the Middle East drove a massive spike in oil prices.
The regional sell-off was triggered by fears of prolonged energy supply
disruptions and rising global inflation.
Market
Impact by Region
The rout
was widespread, hitting energy-dependent economies particularly hard:
Japan:
The Nikkei 225 plunged more than 6%, dropping to approximately 52,167 points.
South
Korea: The KOSPI sank over 6.5%, closing at 5,217.73.
India:
The Sensex crashed nearly 3% (over 2,300 points) in early trade, though it
later recovered some losses to close down about 1.3%.
Greater
China: Losses were more moderate, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 2% and the
Shanghai Composite shedding nearly 2%.
Key
Market Drivers
Surging
Oil Prices: Brent crude soared as much as 30%, reaching over $114 per barrel.
The spike followed reports that tankers are avoiding the Strait of Hormuz, a
critical artery for roughly 20% of global oil supplies.
Geopolitical
Escalation: Tensions rose following the death of Iran's Supreme Leader and
subsequent retaliatory strikes, leading investors to brace for a protracted
conflict.
Sector
Sell-offs:
Airlines:
Major carriers like Japan Airlines, Korean Air, and AirAsia X saw shares tumble
due to rising jet fuel costs.
Technology:
High-growth semiconductor stocks, previously boosted by the AI boom, faced
heavy selling as investors fled to liquidity.
Flight to
Safety: Investors exited riskier assets in favor of the U.S. dollar, gold, and
silver.
Surging Oil Prices Tank Stocks in Asia
.jpeg)
Surging
Oil Prices Tank Stocks in Asia
Asian
markets tumbled on Monday as Middle East tensions and spiking oil prices
sparked a mass exit from the region’s previously booming stocks.
River
Akira Davis Meaghan Tobin
By River
Akira Davis and Meaghan Tobin
River
Akira Davis reported from Tokyo and Meaghan Tobin from Taipei, Taiwan.
March 9,
2026
Updated
3:34 a.m. ET
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/business/stocks-iran-oil.html
Markets
tumbled again on Monday as escalating tensions in Iran and surging oil prices
spurred a fresh wave of selling across the region.
The
benchmark index in South Korea dropped 6 percent, while stocks in Japan fell
about 5 percent. Taiwan’s Taiex index declined over 4 percent, while Hong
Kong’s Hang Seng fell 2 percent.
U.S.
stock futures, which give traders the chance to bet on the market before
exchanges open, were also lower.
In recent
weeks, stocks in Asia have been hit by twin challenges. Investors have sold
riskier artificial intelligence stocks, which have inflated valuations in the
region. They are also factoring in new fears about the impact of surging energy
prices on economies that are large importers of fuels, including oil and
natural gas.
Global
investors had heaped huge sums of money into Asian technology stocks this year,
betting the sector offered better value than its potentially overstretched
counterpart in the United States. Markets in the region have been among the
best-performing this year.
The
economies of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are among the world’s most
vulnerable to disruptions in the flow of natural gas and oil from the Middle
East. Japan, in particular, imports around 90 percent of its oil through the
Strait of Hormuz, while South Korea depends on the Middle East for about 70
percent of its crude imports. About 60 percent of Taiwan’s oil and a third of
its natural gas arrives by ship via the strait.
Stocks
across sectors were broadly lower in Asia on Monday. The sell-off was
particularly acute among the chipmakers and suppliers that had led the
A.I.-driven rally.
In Japan,
semiconductor-material producer Nitto Boseki plunged more than 13 percent. In
South Korea, memory-chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix were both down
by more than 8 percent. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which makes
chips for Apple and Nvidia, was down about 4 percent, and Foxconn, the
Taiwanese electronics manufacturer that makes Nvidia’s A.I. servers, was down
nearly 6 percent.
Near the
end of the Asian trading day, stocks pared some of their losses following a
Bloomberg News report that Saudi Arabia had offered to supply the markets with
more crude — a move likely to help ease oil prices.
Oil
Prices: The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures, the U.S. oil
benchmark, at one point neared $120 per barrel, the highest price seen since
the Covid-19 pandemic. The spike followed reports that the closure of the
Strait of Hormuz had prompted a growing number of countries in the region to
cut oil production.
Test of
tech optimism: The market volatility is a test for investor optimism about
A.I., which buoyed related stocks to record highs last month. While many
investors said the widening crisis in the Middle East did not change their
fundamental outlook on A.I., a prolonged conflict that interrupts the supply of
energy to import-dependent Asia could disrupt the production of chips.
River
Akira Davis covers Japan for The Times, including its economy and businesses,
and is based in Tokyo.
Meaghan
Tobin covers business and tech stories in Asia with a focus on China and is
based in Taipei.
domingo, 8 de março de 2026
Subscrever:
Comentários (Atom)
.webp)
.jpeg)
