Iran war fears send Asian stocks tumbling, oil soaring

Record ID: 2364585

  • Title: Iran war fears send Asian stocks tumbling, oil soaring
  • Date: 9th March 2026
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (MARCH 9, 2026) (REUTERS) SCREEN SHOWING ANIMATION AT CLOSING OF TRADING SESSIONS FOR TOKYO STOCK EXCHANGE SCREEN SHOWING BENCHMARK NIKKEI INDEX CLOSING DOWN AT 52728.72 POINTS, -2892.12 SCREEN SHOWING MAJOR INDEXES AFTER CLOSING SCREEN SHOWING TOPIX INDEX AT 3575.84, -141.09 AND NIKKEI INDEX SCREEN SHOWING STOCK INDICES SCREEN SHOWING CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATES
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Hang Seng Index Hong Kong TAIEX stock exchange stock market
  • Location: TOKYO, JAPAN / SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / TAIPEI, TAIWAN / HONG KONG, CHINA / INTERNET
  • City: TOKYO, JAPAN / SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / TAIPEI, TAIWAN / HONG KONG, CHINA / INTERNET
  • Country: Various
  • Topics: Economic Events,Equities Markets
  • Reuters ID: LVA001215409032026RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Hong Kong stocks pared losses Monday (March 9) afternoon as bargain hunters emerged after Iran war fears sent markets tumbling, though other Asian bourses failed to recover as oil prices surged more than 25 percent.
         Oil prices surged more than 25% on Monday to their highest levels since mid-2022 as fears of prolonged shipping disruptions gripped the market due to the expanding U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
        Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell more than 3% to hit six-month lows in the morning, but the benchmark ended the day down 1.4%, after witnessing record daily inflows from mainland investors under Stock Connect.
        Japan's Nikkei average fell 7% to a two-month low on Monday amid a broad selloff, as a surge in oil prices fanned fears of inflation and an economic slowdown.
        The fall is its lowest this year, and according to Japanese media reports, the third lowest in the index’s history.  Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan will consider steps to cushion the economic blow from rising fuel costs caused by the conflict in the Middle East including curbing gasoline prices.
        Taiwan's benchmark Taiwan Stock Exchange Capitalization Weighted Stock Index (TAIEX) dropped 1,489.12 points, or 4.43%, and closed at 32,110.42 on Monday, and in South Korea, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed  down 5.96% to 5,251.87 points.
    (Production: Yi-Chin Lee, Joseph Campbell, Joyce Zhou)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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