Oil prices surge as Iran conflict flares, while global stocks skid on selling of tech shares
TOKYO (AP) — Global shares sank on Monday after Wall Street ended last week with its worst day since October, while oil prices jumped more than $4 as fighting flared between Israel and Iran.
South Korea’s Kospi led the global retreat, plunging 8.3% on heavy selling of technology shares and extending losses that on Friday gave the S&P 500 its biggest single day drop in months.
The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.2%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3%.
Oil prices surged as Israel launched airstrikes early Monday, targeting central and western Iran in response to missile fire. Iranian state television reported the sound of explosions being heard in Isfahan, Tabriz and Tehran, without immediately elaborating.
American and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative deal last week to extend their ceasefire, but the agreement has not been finalized and the latest attacks further strain efforts to end the conflict. The U.S. war with Iran has essentially blocked crude oil shipments from moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude, the international standard, jumped $4.60 to $97.69 a barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude surged $4.13 to $94.67 a barrel.
In early European share trading, France's CAC 40 fell 0.7% to 8,161.42, while the German DAX dipped 0.8% to 24,552.77. Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.4% to 10,331.24.
During Asia's day, the Kospi in Seoul slipped 8.3% to 7,484.41 as Samsung Electronics, the country’s biggest company, dropped 10.2%. SK Hynix declined 7.7%.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 3.9% to finish at 64,024.60. The Japanese government revised the annualized economic growth rate to 1.8% for the first quarter this year, down from an earlier estimate of 2.1%.
Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan's Taiex lost 3.5% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1.3% to 24,642.33. The Shanghai Composite shed 1.7% to 3,959.34.
Markets were closed in Australia for the King’s Birthday, a holiday.
Friday marked the biggest one-day drop for Wall Street since Oct. 10, when the Trump administration threatened to impose a 100% tariff on imported goods from China.
The S&P 500 sank 2.6% after a strong jobs report boosted expectations about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates this year, further darkening sentiment already dimmed by worries over a possible end to the rally in tech shares driven by the boom in investment in artificial intelligence.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4%, while the Nasdaq composite slumped 4.2%.
In currency trading early Monday, the U.S. dollar inched down to 160.23 Japanese yen from 160.25 yen. The euro cost $1.1521, up from $1.1515.
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Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama
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