Asian Stocks Down After US Losses, Iran Strikes

Stocks in Asia fell sharply, and oil prices rose early Monday after Iran fired missiles at Israel and following heavy losses on Wall Street.

At 9:53 am (0053 GMT), Japan’s Nikkei 225 was off 3.41 per cent at 64,318.06 points, while South Korea’s Kospi was down 6.81 per cent at 7,604.98.

Brent crude was up 2.4 per cent at $95.32 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was 2.3 per cent higher at $92.59.

Air raid sirens sounded in Israel on Sunday as its military said it intercepted incoming Iranian missiles, the first such barrage since an April ceasefire took hold in the Middle East war.

Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards called the attack a “warning” after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier in the day, threatening wider strikes in the event of repeated aggression.

On Friday, Wall Street’s key indices closed heavily in the red, hit by a massive sell-off in technology stocks following a recent surge driven by AI investment.