Asia stocks down after US losses, Iran strikes Israel

Asian markets experienced a sharp downturn early Monday, with stocks falling significantly and oil prices climbing. This decline followed heavy losses on Wall Street and Iran's missile strikes targeting Israel.

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Stocks in Asia fell sharply and oil prices rose early Monday (Jun 8) after Iran fired missiles at Israel and following heavy losses on Wall Street.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index saw a substantial drop of 3.41%, reaching 64,318.06 points. Similarly, South Korea's Kospi index plummeted by 6.81% to 7,604.98 points. In contrast, oil prices edged higher, with Brent crude up 2.4% at US$95.32 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate up 2.3% at US$92.59.

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At 9.53am 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.

The geopolitical tensions escalated as air raid sirens sounded in Israel, with its military reporting the interception of Iranian missiles. This marked the first such barrage since an April ceasefire. Iran's Revolutionary Guards described the attack as a "warning" after an earlier Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, hinting at further action if aggression continued.

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

This regional instability occurred against the backdrop of a significant sell-off in US technology stocks on Friday. The American market's decline was fueled by a massive sell-off in tech shares, which had recently surged due to investments in artificial intelligence.

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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.