Asian Markets Slide as Oil Surges on Fears of Escalation

Donald Trump: "We will strike Iran forcefully, today." 10.6.2026 / Reuters Trading on Asian stock exchanges opened sharply lower on Thursday, directly hit by the heavy sell-off on Wall Street the previous night. The negative trend was driven by a higher-than-expected U.S. inflation reading, which came on top of rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The renewed exchanges of blows and U.S. strikes in Iran reignited market fears and led to an immediate jump in global oil prices.

Leading the decline in Asia was South Korea’s KOSPI index, which fell 3%, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan lost 0.9%. The negative sentiment continued to weigh on markets as futures trading opened, with S&P 500 futures down 0.3%.

Against this backdrop, investors are watching with concern the official reports from the U.S. military, according to which a new round of strikes against a number of targets in Iran has begun. The strikes were carried out just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened further attacks if no agreement was reached, and prompted an immediate Iranian response in the form of an announcement that the Strait of Hormuz would be closed. As a result, when trading resumed in Asia, the price of Brent crude jumped 2% to $94.93 a barrel.

The current turmoil follows a particularly difficult trading day on Wall Street in New York. The S&P 500 ended Wednesday down 1.6%, and the Nasdaq shed 2.0% of its value. The drop on Wall Street came after official data showed that U.S. inflation accelerated last month to its fastest pace since April 2023, even though the figure itself matched market expectations. At the same time, Brent crude settled up $1.65, or 1.8%, at $93.10 a barrel, amid Trump’s threats to resume the strikes.