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Asian shares dipped on Monday (March 23, 2026) , as oil costs continued to climb after US President Donald Trump’s newest feedback dashed hopes for an early finish to the struggle in Iran.
South Korea’s Kospi dove 6.5% to five,404.77. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 4.0% to 24,279.23, whereas the Shanghai Composite declined 3.7% to three,811.62.
Mr. Trump over the weekend warned the U.S. will “obliterate” Iran’s energy vegetation if it would not totally open the Strait of Hormuz inside 48 hours, prompting Tehran to say it might reply to any such strike with assaults on U.S. and Israeli vitality and infrastructure property in the area.
Also learn: Iran-Israel struggle LIVE
“Trump’s ultimatum and Iran’s retaliatory warnings point to a widening conflict that keeps energy disruption and market volatility elevated with no clear off-ramp in sight,” stated Ng Jing Wen, analyst at Mizuho Bank in Singapore.
Higher oil costs, which additionally shook inventory markets on Friday, dashed hopes for a doable upcoming lower to rates of interest by the Federal Reserve, analysts stated.
Before the struggle, merchants had been betting that the Fed would lower charges at the least twice this yr. Central banks in Europe, Japan and the United Kingdom additionally lately held their rates of interest regular.
In vitality buying and selling, benchmark U.S. crude added $1.76 to $99.99 a barrel. Brent crude, the worldwide customary, gained $1.15 to $113.34 a barrel. The value of Brent crude has zigzagged recently from about $70 per barrel earlier than the struggle started to as excessive as $119.50.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury completed final week with a leap to 4.38% Friday from 4.2% late Thursday and from simply 3.97% earlier than the struggle began.
The two-year Treasury yield, which extra carefully tracks expectations for what the Fed would possibly do, rose to three.88% from 3.79%.
In foreign money buying and selling, the U.S. greenback rose to 159.53 Japanese yen from 159.22 yen. The euro price $1.1526, down from $1.1571.
Published – March 23, 2026 12:44 pm IST