By Ronnie Harui and Sherry Qin
Oil rose on fears of a widening Middle East conflict that could lead to more supply disruptions, while Asian equities fell on concerns that the war could slow global economic growth.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures climbed 2.2% to $101.80 per barrel, and front-month Brent crude oil futures rose 2.6% to $115.50 a barrel.
Among Asian equities, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was down 4.6%, South Korea's Kospi was off 3.8%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was 1.8% lower. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 benchmark index was down 1.25%.
Asian airline stocks also declined on fears of prolonged, elevated fuel prices. China Eastern Airlines fell 5.1%, Air China was down 4.2%, and Singapore Airlines was off 1.05%.
President Trump was considering a military operation to extract almost 1,000 pounds of uranium from Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. officials, a complex and risky mission that would likely put American forces inside the country for days or longer.
Meanwhile, Yemen's Houthi rebels have also joined the conflict, with the rebels claiming responsibility for a second attack on Israel within 24 hours, signaling a deepening role for the Iran-backed group in the widening war.
The entry of Iran-backed Houthi forces into the conflict marks a dangerous expansion of the war, introducing risks not only to the Strait of Hormuz but also to the Bab-el-Mandeb corridor, through which nearly 12% of global trade flows, Phillip Nova analyst Priyanka Sachdeva said.
Late Sunday, President Trump said in a post on Truth Social that it has been a "big day in Iran" and "many long sought after targets have been taken out and destroyed."
"The conflict involving Iran shows little sign of de-escalating," StoneX's Matt Simpson said in commentary. "If anything, tensions are broadening across the region, with Iran-aligned militias in Iraq launching attacks on U.S.-linked assets and Houthi forces in Yemen continuing to disrupt shipping routes in the Red Sea," the senior market analyst added.
Financial markets are increasingly concerned that a lasting energy supply disruption could hurt industries such as agriculture and transportation, with the conflict extending into its fifth week.
Beyond crude oil, disruptions are now spreading to aluminum, the metal widely used in cars, planes and solar panels. After Iranian strikes on aluminum production sites in the Middle East over the weekend, the three-month LME contract jumped 4.1% to $3,431.00 a ton. Stocks of aluminum miners and manufacturers rose broadly in Asia. Aluminum Corp. of China increased 5.8% and Rio Tinto gained 3.2%.
The greenback was mixed against risk-sensitive and energy-importing Asian currencies. The dollar weakened against the Indian rupee, last down 1.4% to 93.4490 rupees, after the Reserve Bank of India limited net open forex positions. The dollar was 0.4% lower to 159.30 yen but was 0.2% higher to 1,511.30 Korean won.
There appears to be a "possible shift in market narrative, i.e. away from the inflation shock of higher oil prices to the damage to growth and the labour market from a prolonged energy shock," Commerzbank Research analysts said in a research report.
Write to Ronnie Harui at ronnie.harui@wsj.com and Sherry Qin at sherry.qin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 29, 2026 23:49 ET (03:49 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments