BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks tanked on Monday as oil surged above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022 amid escalating political tensions in West Asia.
Tensions in the Gulf escalated following reports of explosions at Al Udeid Air Base, the largest United States military installation in the Middle East.
Bahrain's state oil company has declared force majeure on its shipments after Iranian strikes in the region set the largest oil facility on fire.
Crude prices surged more than 25 percent in early Asian trade, amid fears of supply disruptions, triggering risk-off sentiment across global markets and pushing investors toward the dollar.
The dollar surged while gold trimmed early losses to trade above $5,100 an ounce as investors braced for a prolonged conflict in the Middle East that could send energy costs even higher.
China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.67 percent to 4,096.60 after the release of mixed inflation data, with the consumer-price growth accelerating to the quickest in over three years in February while factory deflation moderated again.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.35 percent to 25,408.46 as surging oil prices stoked concerns about higher living costs and potential rate hikes.
Japanese markets nosedived on fears that escalating tensions in the Middle East could disrupt global energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Nikkei average slumped 7.6 percent early in the session, its sharpest decline since April 7, before recovering some lost ground to end 5.20 percent lower at 52,728.72. The broader Topix index settled 3.80 percent lower at 3,575.84.
Technology stocks were among the hardest hit, with SoftBank Group, and Advantest falling 10-11 percent.
South Korea's Kospi average sank 5.96 percent to 5,251.87, dragged down by tech heavyweights. Samsung Electronics lost 7.8 percent and SK Hynix plunged 9.5 percent.
Trading was briefly disrupted due to technical glitches after the index plummeted over 8 percent in late morning trading.
Australian markets fell by the most in 11 months as investors braced for prolonged shipping disruptions and an extended period of high energy costs.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 tumbled 2.85 percent to 8,599, with financials, miners, gold, healthcare and tech stocks leading losses.
The broader All Ordinaries index closed 2.88 percent lower at 8,823.60. Mining heavyweight BHP Billiton slumped 5.1 percent and peer Rio Tinto gave up 3.8 percent.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index ended down 3.1 percent at 13,098.83, clocking its sharpest decline since early April 2025.
U.S. stocks fell sharply on Friday, adding to the losses posted in the previous session as U.S. crude oil prices spiked 12 percent to more than &90 a barrel, stirring inflation and interest-rate concerns.
Investors also reacted to signs of a weakening U.S. jobs market, with the economy unexpectedly losing 92,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate edging up to 4.4 percent from 4.3 percent amid a strike by healthcare workers and harsh winter weather.
The Dow and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively to hit their lowest closing levels in over three months while the S&P 500 gave up 1.3 percent to reach a two-month closing low.
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