Asia-Pacific markets fell on Monday as escalating tensions between Iran and the United States-Israel alliance rattled investors, pushing oil futures sharply higher and fuelling concerns over global energy supplies.
The sell-off follows the death of Ali Khamenei, confirmed by Iranian state media after coordinated strikes.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that combat operations in Iran would continue after three U.S. service personnel were killed, heightening fears of a prolonged regional conflict.
By 11:30 am AEDT (12:30 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was trading 0.4% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 slumped 2.5%.
South Korea’s KOSPI 200 remained closed for a public holiday.
In Australia, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported that seasonally adjusted company gross operating profits rose 5.8% in the latest quarter, well above expectations of a 3.6% increase.
Wages and salaries climbed 0.9% over the same period.
In commodities, Brent crude rose 2.9% on Friday to settle at US$72.87 per barrel before futures jumped more than 7.5% to US$78.43 at Monday’s open.
Spot gold also strengthened, settling 1.8% higher on Friday at US$5,278.51 per ounce, as investors sought safe-haven assets amid mounting uncertainty.
Wall Street closed lower on Friday ahead of the weekend escalation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1%, the S&P 500 declined 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.9%.
In China, the SSE Composite Index added 0.4% to close at 4,162.9, while the CSI 300 slipped 0.3% to 4,710.6 on Friday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1% to 26,630.5, while India’s BSE Sensex fell 1.2% to 81,287.2.
European markets were mixed. The UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6% to a fresh record close of 10,910.6. Germany’s DAX ended flat at 25,284.3, while France’s CAC 40 eased 0.5% to 8,580.8.
