HONG KONG: Tokyo&#39;s Nikkei index soared Thursday to lead another strong rally across Asia stocks, fueled by growing optimism the Iran war is close to ending and the revival of demand for all things AI. Oil prices also held the week&#39;s steep losses due to hopes Washington and Tehran will conclude the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the start of March, choking off a fifth of the world&#39;s crude. Risk sentiment got a huge boost Wednesday when President Donald Trump said an agreement was near, a day after he paused efforts to help stranded ships through Hormuz, which drew Iranian attacks and threatened their fragile ceasefire. If &quot;Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to&quot; the war would be over, the US president said. But if not, the bombing would resume &quot;at a much higher level and intensity&quot;. He later told reporters: &quot;We&#39;ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it&#39;s very possible that we&#39;ll make a deal.&quot; US news outlet Axios cited two US officials as saying both sides were close to agreement on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war, open the strait and set a framework for more detailed nuclear talks. Iran has yet to respond to the US offer, with foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei telling local media it was &quot;still under review&quot;. Parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has taken the lead in negotiations, warned Washington trying to &quot;force us to surrender&quot;. Oil prices were flat Thursday, having fallen around 10% over the previous two days. Investors, who have largely remained optimistic that a deal can be reached, tracked another record day on Wall Street and pushed Asian markets higher. The gains have also been helped by a fresh wave of cash back into the tech sector as traders snap up all things AI, helped by standout earnings from US giants including Microsoft, Apple and Alphabet. Tokyo&#39;s Nikkei soared more than 5% as investors there returned from a long holiday, with tech investment titan SoftBank rocketing more than 15% while chip-linked firms Tokyo Electron and Advantest also ratcheted up big gains. Seoul extended Wednesday&#39;s surge that took it past 7,000 points for the first time, with Samsung also up following its meteoric rise to pass the $1 trillion market capitalization mark. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, Wellington, Manila and Jakarta also clocked up big gains. The prospect of cheaper oil prices tempered worries about inflation, which also helped gold rally more than 3% Wednesday. Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management said &quot;traders aggressively embraced the idea that the Iran war may finally be shifting from missile trajectories to negotiation tables, while the AI frenzy simultaneously poured jet fuel onto the risk rally&quot;. &quot;The result was one of those rare sessions where nearly every macro domino fell in perfect sequence. Oil collapsed, bonds rallied, the dollar sank, gold exploded higher&quot;, and stocks surged. Investors in Tokyo were also closely watching the yen after speculation of intervention by the Japanese government to prop up the beleaguered currency. The unit, which has been hit by surging oil prices and a rush to the safe-haven dollar, hit a 10-month high against the greenback Wednesday, in the latest of a series of spikes in recent days that have fueled rumors that officials have provided support. The government spent $32-$38 billion buying yen in the market last Thursday, local media reported, quoting Bank of Japan data. Atsushi Mimura, Japan&#39;s top currency official, on Thursday declined to comment, local media reported. Key figures at around 0230 GMT&nbsp; Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 5.7 percent at 62,915.87 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.5 percent at 26,598.50 Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 4,167.62 West Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $95.08 a barrel Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $101.32 a barrel Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.23 yen from 156.39 yen on Wednesday Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1756 from $1.1752 Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3600 from $1.3594 Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.42 pence from 86.45 pence

An electronic quotation board displays the Nikkei 225 stock prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on May 7, 2026. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)

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Asian stocks surged led by Tokyo’s Nikkei as optimism over a possible Iran-US deal, easing oil prices, and booming AI-driven tech demand boosted global investor confidence.

Tokyo leads Asia stock surge on growing Mideast peace hopes

HONGKONG: Stock markets fell Friday as investors awaited news of an extension to the Iran-US ceasefire, while crude prices edged back down following the previous day&#39;s rally. The losses follow a healthy, record-breaking week for equities fueled by hopes the Middle East war, which is heading into a seventh week, could be close to an end after Donald Trump said negotiators were close to a deal. But worries abound that a shaky truce agreed earlier this month and which ends next week could fall apart and spark a fresh market rout. The US president on Thursday struck an optimistic tone, telling reporters that &quot;it&#39;s looking very good that we&#39;re going to make a deal with Iran, and it&#39;s going to be a good deal&quot;, adding that talks between Washington and Tehran could resume this weekend. He also claimed Iran had &quot;agreed to give us back the nuclear dust&quot;, using his name for the country&#39;s enriched uranium stockpile, and the deal would include &quot;free oil&quot; as well as the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. &quot;We had to make sure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon,&quot; Trump said at the White House. &quot;They&#39;ve totally agreed to that. They&#39;ve agreed to almost everything, so maybe if they can get to the table, there&#39;s a difference.&quot; Iran has given no public indication it would surrender its stockpile. However, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took a tough line on the situation earlier in the day, telling a Pentagon news conference: &quot;If Iran chooses poorly, then they will have a blockade and bombs dropping on infrastructure, power and energy.&quot; Meanwhile, some Gulf Arab and European leaders fear a long-term agreement could take six months to achieve and called for the truce to cover such a time period, Bloomberg reported. They wanted the Strait of Hormuz, &nbsp;through which about a fifth of global oil and LNG passes opened immediately and have warned in private of a global food crisis if that is not achieved by next month, the report said. Fragile sentiment&nbsp;Stocks fell across the region, with Tokyo, which hit a record high Thursday, among the biggest losers, with Seoul, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Wellington, Manila and Singapore also well down. Taiwan&#39;s TAIEX dropped. On Thursday it hit a market capitalization of US$4.14 trillion to top the UK&#39;s market capitalization and become the world&#39;s seventh biggest, according to Bloomberg data. London edged lower, Paris edged up and Frankfurt was flat. That came even after the S&amp;P 500 and Nasdaq enjoyed record closes on Wall Street. Analysts said traders were heading into the weekend to positioning for any surprise developments. Oil prices dropped, a day after sharp gains, though both main contracts remain just below $100 a barrel. There was some support from a 10-day ceasefire agreed between Israel and Lebanon that took effect at 2100 GMT Thursday. Tel Aviv has sent troops into its northern neighbor since militant group Hezbollah launched rocket attacks in support of Iran last month. Hezbollah has not officially said if it will recognize the ceasefire but one of its lawmakers told AFP on Thursday that the group would respect it if Israeli attacks on its militants stopped. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the 10-day ceasefire with Lebanon offered an opportunity for a &quot;historic peace agreement&quot;, but insisted that the disarmament of militant group Hezbollah remained a precondition. Trump said he will invite the countries&#39; leaders to the White House. &quot;While investors remain buoyed by talks of an extension in the US-Iran ceasefire and an announced Israel-Lebanon 10 day ceasefire, risk sentiment remains fragile as an immediate deal remains unlikely given that the countries remain far apart on key issues,&quot; wrote National Australia Bank&#39;s Skye Masters. Fiona Cincotta of City Index, said: &quot;While risks remain particularly around disruptions to key shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz markets are increasingly pricing in a scenario where oil prices have peaked unless tensions re-escalate.&quot; But she warned &quot;the outlook remains fragile. A breakdown in diplomacy or renewed escalation could quickly reverse recent gains&quot;. Key figures around 0715 GMT Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.8% at 58,475.90 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.2% at 26,087.89 Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1% at 4,051.43 (close) London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1% at 10,584.26 West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.0% at $93.73 a barrel Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6% at $98.76 a barrel Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1777 from $1.1784 on Thursday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3507 from $1.3529 Dollar/yen: UP at 159.40 yen from 159.14 yen Euro/pound: UP at 87.17 pence from 87.09 pence New York - Dow Jones: UP 0.2% at 48,578.72 (close)

People walk past an electronic quotation board displaying stock price movements for various companies, including SoftBank Group (C), listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange along a street in Tokyo on April 14, 2026. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

Global markets dipped as investors weighed fragile Iran-US ceasefire prospects and easing oil prices amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.

Stocks reverse as investors await news on US-Iran peace talks

HONG KONG: Stocks rose Friday with investors still optimistic about the shaky ceasefire in the US-Iran war ahead of planned weekend talks, though oil prices extended gains over worries Israel&#39;s continued attacks on Lebanon could shatter the peace process. Washington and Tehran&#39;s announcement Tuesday of a two-week truce that would see the Strait of Hormuz reopened, having been closed since the start of the war, sparked a wave of euphoria across markets. But hopes for an end to the crisis have been hit by squabbles between the two sides over the agreement and the future of the key waterway, through which a fifth of the world&#39;s oil and gas passes. US and Iranian delegations are due in Pakistan for peace talks, but they come as Tehran says Israel has already broken terms of the ceasefire by continuing to hit Lebanese targets, where Israel says Iran-backed Hezbollah is located. The United States and Israel deny an end to attacks on Lebanon was in the deal. Meanwhile, Trump warned on Thursday against Iran&#39;s plan to charge a toll for ships passing through Hormuz, saying on social media: &quot;They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!&quot; In a second message just a few minutes later, he added that &quot;very quickly, you&#39;ll see Oil start flowing, with or without the help of Iran.&quot; He also said Tehran was &quot;doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz&quot;. Just 10 vessels have passed through the waterway since the Middle East war ceasefire took effect, according to maritime tracking data. Only one of those tankers is not Iranian. Equity markets, which have been hammered since the war broke out on February 28, extended the week&#39;s gains. Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai and Taipei all rose at least one percent, while Singapore and Manila were also well up, though Sydney slipped. The gains followed a second healthy run-up on Wall Street. Oil prices climbed around one percent but sat just below $100 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate briefly jumped above the key level on Thursday. Analysts said the equity gains were helped by news that Israel and Lebanon will hold talks next week in Washington. That comes after NBC reported that Trump had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a scale-back in strikes on its northern neighbour to ensure the success of negotiations with Iran. With stocks rising, IG market analyst Fabien Yip said those &quot;that suffered the deepest drawdowns during the conflict are likely candidates for the sharpest near-term recovery&quot;. But she warned: &quot;The ceasefire is temporary and the details remain sparse. Iran&#39;s 10-point proposal and Washington&#39;s stated positions retain substantial differences, and the Islamabad talks carry no guarantee of success. &quot;Even the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz -- subject to Iran&#39;s &#39;technical limitations&#39; -- will take weeks, if not months, before shipping backlogs are cleared and supply chains normalise. &quot;Crude oil prices are therefore unlikely to revert to pre-war levels in the near term.&quot; Investors are also keeping tabs on the release later Friday of US inflation data, which observers say could provide an idea about the impact of the surge in crude on consumers. Prices are expected to have spiked 3.4 percent last month, from 2.4 percent in February, according to a Bloomberg survey. In company news, shares in Japanese retail titan Fast Retailing soared 10 percent to a record high after it hiked its full-year operating profit outlook, helped by healthy demand for its Uniqlo brand in the United States and Europe. Key figures at around 0230 GMTWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.8 percent at $98.67 a barrel Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $96.51 a barrel Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.5 percent at 56,728.95 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.1 percent at 26,029.69 Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.0 percent at 4,006.68 Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1692 from $1.1707 on Thursday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3428 from $1.3441 Dollar/yen: UP at 159.08 yen from 159.06 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.07 pence from 87.09 pence New York - Dow Jones: UP 0.6 percent at 48,185.80 (close) London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 10,603.48 (close)

Global markets rebound as investors bet on US-Iran talks in Islamabad, but rising oil prices and continued Israeli strikes on Lebanon highlight risks to the fragile ceasefire and uncertainty over Strait of Hormuz access.

Stocks rally on optimism over Iran war ceasefire, oil extends gains

HONG KONG: Oil prices climbed, and stocks fell on Thursday on fears over the nascent US-Iran ceasefire after Tehran threatened to resume hostilities after Israel launched a major bombardment of Lebanon. Equity markets across the globe soared and crude plunged on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump announced the two-week halt in the war, and the Islamic Republic said it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz as peace talks took place. But with the deal less than a day old, cracks were already appearing as Tel Aviv said it did not include Israel&#39;s fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon as it continued attacks on its northern neighbor. That view was echoed by Vice President JD Vance, who said: &quot;If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart ... over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them, and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that&#39;s ultimately their choice.&quot; Iran said that it broke the terms of the deal as reports said the vital Hormuz waterway &mdash; through which a fifth of the world&#39;s oil and gas passes &mdash; was shut again. However, that came as Tehran announced alternative routes for ships travelling through the Strait, citing the risk of sea mines. The country&#39;s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, posted on X that the &quot;workable basis on which to negotiate&quot; had already been violated, making further talks &quot;unreasonable.&quot; He listed three alleged US violations of the truce plan: the continued attacks in Lebanon, a drone entering Iranian airspace, and a denial of the country&#39;s right to enrichment. Hezbollah said on Thursday it had fired rockets towards Israel in response to its &quot;violation.&quot; Meanwhile, a senior US official said Tehran&#39;s 10-point plan was not the same set of conditions the White House had agreed to. Fears that the ceasefire could fall apart while crude remains stuck in Hormuz saw West Texas Intermediate oil jump around 3% Thursday, having plunged more than 16% the day before. Brent was up more than two percent following a 13 percent drop. Equities also gave up some of their gains. Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, and Taipei were all down. Attention is also turning to crunch talks in Pakistan that are expected on Friday or Saturday, with Vance leading the US delegation. &quot;Many questions remain with the 10-point plan that Trump has received from Iran (which includes Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz, US acceptance of Iran&#39;s uranium enrichment programme, the end of all sanctions, and withdrawal of the US military from the Gulf region) is at odds with Trump&#39;s 15-point peace plan,&quot; wrote National Australia Bank&#39;s Skye Masters. Still, observers warned that an end to the conflict would not see a quick return to normal, with crude prices still elevated and key regional infrastructure targeted that could take billions of dollars and at least months to repair. Shipping journal Lloyd&#39;s List estimated that around 800 ships have been stuck in the Gulf since the end of February, when hostilities broke out. Still, FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada said: &quot;Investors are confident that oil prices could ease further and the Strait of Hormuz will reopen again and hopefully stay open beyond the two-week ceasefire period.&quot;

Equity markets across globe soar, crude plunges after US President Trump announces two-week halt in war, Iran’s parliament speaker says "workable basis on which to negotiate" had already been violated, making further talks "unreasonable.”

Crude rises, stocks fall on fears over nascent Iran ceasefire

HONG KONG: Oil prices fell Friday after Donald Trump again pushed back a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though most equities also dropped as traders shrugged at the news following a series of conflicting messaging from the White House. The US president had warned last Saturday he would obliterate the Islamic Republic&#39;s energy sites if it did not unblock the crucial waterway within 48 hours, but pushed that back five days, citing positive peace talks, which Tehran denied had taken place. But after days of strikes by both sides and mixed reports of negotiations -- including the trading of multi-point demands -- he announced Thursday that he would again delay the attacks to April 6 after a request from Tehran. &quot;Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well,&quot; Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. &quot;As per Iranian Government request... I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time,&quot; he posted. Trump had earlier denied he was desperate for a deal to end the war, despite the Islamic Republic&#39;s cool response to an American peace plan and fears the spike in oil prices would fan inflation. Trump later told a cabinet meeting Iran had allowed 10 oil tankers passage through the Strait of Hormuz -- through which about a fifth of world oil and gas pass -- to show it was serious about talks. The Iranian news agency Tasnim said the country&#39;s response to Washington&#39;s 15-point plan to end the war &quot;was officially sent last night through intermediaries, and Iran is awaiting the other side&#39;s response&quot;. The report, citing an unnamed official, said officials had called for an end to US-Israeli attacks on Iran and groups elsewhere in the region. It also called for war reparations and Iran&#39;s &quot;sovereignty&quot; over the Strait of Hormuz be respected. However, Trump&#39;s announcement came as the Wall Street Journal cited Department of Defense officials as saying the Pentagon was considering sending as many as 10,000 extra ground troops to the Middle East. Oil prices fell more than one percent on Friday, though that only partially pared the previous day&#39;s surge amid growing anxiety that the conflict will last far longer than first thought. Brent is up almost 50% since the war began on Feb. 28, while West Texas Intermediate has risen around 40%. Equities struggled following hefty losses in Wall Street. Tokyo and Seoul, which had been the standout performers in the first two months of the year, were among the biggest losers, while Hong Kong, Sydney, Wellington, Taipei Jakarta and Manila were also sharply lower. Shanghai and Singapore fluctuated. Investors are also increasingly sceptical about the messaging from the White House, with Trump often flipping between threats and talk of peace. &quot;A ten-day extension sounds like breathing room, but in market terms, it feels more like a trader rolling a losing position forward, hoping the next candle delivers what the last one refused to give,&quot; said SPI Asset Management&#39;s Stephen Innes, referring to an investors analysis tool. &quot;Time has been purchased, not clarity. And the market knows the difference.&quot; And National Australia Bank&#39;s Ray Attrill said: &quot;Whether peace talks are taking place between the US and Iran remains debatable, Iran insisting that exchanges of letters via a friendly intermediary (presumed to be Pakistan) does not constitute talks.&quot; &#39;Worst disruptions&#39; Meanwhile, the World Trade Organisation warned the global trading system was experiencing the &quot;worst disruptions in the past 80 years&quot;, while the World Bank said it was prepared to provide immediate financial assistance to emerging market countries. That came as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned US inflation could hit more than four percent this year as a result of the spike in crude prices. That compares with its previous projection of 2.8%. The prospect of another spike in the cost of living led several Federal Reserve officials to express concern about the outlook for the world&#39;s top economy and suggested interest rates were unlikely to come down any time soon. With the economic impact worsening, governments around the world are being forced to act. Spain approved a sweeping $5.8 billion package including steep cuts to energy taxes, while Poland&#39;s prime minister announced a series of measures to address soaring fuel costs, including reduced taxes and price ceilings. And South Korea said it will roll out a $17 billion &quot;wartime&quot; supplementary budget and expand fuel tax cuts. Key figures at around 0230 GMT&nbsp;Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9% at 53,145.33 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3% at 24,787.31 Shanghai - Composite: FLAT at 3,888.09 West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.5% at $93.07 a barrel Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.8% at $106.12 a barrel Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1537 from $1.1523 on Thursday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3339 from $1.3313 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 159.58 yen from 159.83 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.50 pence from 86.55 pence New York - Dow: DOWN 1.0% at 45,960.11 (close) London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.3% at 9,972.17 (close)

Oil prices fell on Friday after Donald Trump again pushed back a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though most equities also dropped as traders shrugged at the news following a series of conflicting messaging from the White House.

Oil drops as Trump pauses Iran strikes, but stock traders nervous

The closing index of the Chinese stock market displayed in a smart phone in Haian, Jiangsu Province, China on March 19, 2026.

Brent crude topped $115 per barrel as Tehran threatened to target regional installations in retaliation for an Israeli strike on a site serving its massive South Pars field, which it shares with Qatar.

Oil prices surge, stocks sink on energy shock fears

HONG KONG: Stock markets plunged Monday as oil and gas prices soared on fears about supplies from the Middle East with the US-Israeli war against Iran continuing into a second week with no sign of letting up. Investors, already spooked by concerns over extended tech valuations and the huge spending on AI, ran for the hills as crude rocketed to its highest level since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Fears grew that the Middle East conflict could last for some time after US President Donald Trump said only the &quot;unconditional surrender&quot; of Iran would end the war. He added at the weekend that the spike in prices was a &quot;small price to pay&quot; to eliminate Iran&#39;s nuclear threat, reiterating the White House&#39;s insistence that the rise is temporary. West Texas Intermediate and BrentBoth main contracts, which had surged more than a quarter last week, spiked as Iran carried out retaliatory strikes against crude-producing Gulf nations. West Texas Intermediate and Brent both jumped around 30% to hit peaks just short of $120 a barrel. European gas prices also soared 30% on Monday. Since the beginning of the war, WTI rose more than 75% and Brent more than 60% before easing on the G7 news. Emergency reservesHowever, the surge was pared as French officials confirmed a Financial Times story that finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrialised nations would discuss tapping emergency reserves to ease the supply strain. Attacks on oilfields were reported in southern Iraq and in the northern autonomous Kurdistan region, which forced a US-run oilfield to cease production, while the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have started reducing output. Strait of Hormuz That came with maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz -- through which a fifth of global crude passes -- halted since the war began on Feb. 28. The prospect of high energy prices for a sustained period has fanned fears of a fresh spike in inflation that could hit the global economy while preventing central banks from cutting interest rates to support growth. With the prospect of the global economy taking a blow from the crisis, equity markets extended last week&#39;s losses, though they pared some of the early retreat. Seoul, which had been the best performer this year thanks to a tech rally, tumbled more than eight percent at one point before closing six percent down, while Tokyo shed more than five percent and Taipei fell more than four percent. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Manila, Bangkok, Mumbai, Jakarta and Wellington were also sharply lower. London, Paris and Frankfurt opened on the back foot. &quot;Stocks continue to face stiff headwinds, with markets in Europe and Asia, specifically Japan, more vulnerable in the short-term given that those are heavy energy importers, and with those markets having vastly outperformed the US year to date, until the Iran war begun,&quot; wrote Pepperstone&#39;s Michael Brown. &#39;Very small price to pay&#39;Futures for all three main indexes on Wall Street were down more than one percent, while the dollar jumped against its peers as traders sought out its safe haven status. The prospect of interest rates being kept elevated, or even raised to combat inflation, saw gold prices sink more than one percent to around $5,100 an ounce. &quot;The deeper shock is spreading across the production chain,&quot; said SPI Asset Management&#39;s Stephen Innes. &quot;Gulf producers are scaling back output because storage hubs are filling up and export flows are seizing. Qatar has halted liquefaction at key gas facilities, a move that will take weeks to reverse even if the conflict cools tomorrow. &quot;In other words, the market is not dealing with a headline shock. It deals with a physical disruption of oil molecules. &quot;Oil above $100 is not just a commodity rally. It becomes a tax on the global economy.&quot; However, Trump sought to offer reassurance that the spike in crude would not last long. &quot;Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace,&quot; he wrote on social media Sunday evening Washington time. &quot;ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!&quot; Michael O&#39;Rourke at JonesTrading warned that the pain for investors could last for some time. &quot;The worst is yet to come in the stock market reaction&quot; he said. &quot;I would expect more of a risk-off mood until we get some tangible positive news.&quot; Compounding the downbeat mood was news Friday that the US economy unexpectedly lost jobs in February, while unemployment edged up. Another report also pointed to a drop in US retail sales. Key figures at around 0815 GMT&nbsp;West Texas Intermediate: UP 13.7 percent at $103.31 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: UP 16.3 percent at $107.83 per barrel Seoul - Kospi: DOWN 6.0 percent at 5,251.87 (close) Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 5.2 percent at 52,728.72 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 25,408.46 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 4,096.60 (close) London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.4% at 10,145.62 Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1560 from $1.1604 on Friday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3343 from $1.3385 Dollar/yen: UP at 158.40 yen from 157.88 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.66 pence from 86.67 pence New York - Dow: DOWN 1.3% at 47,501.55 (close)

Investors, already spooked by concerns over extended tech valuations and the huge spending on AI, ran for the hills as crude rocketed to its highest level since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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