Stock markets fell broadly on Monday as traders grew nervous after another weekend produced no signs of de‑escalation in Iran or the wider Gulf and energy prices continued to rise.
Several major Asian markets dropped 3% or more, European indices fell around 2% in morning trade, government bond yields rose modestly and traditional safe havens gold and silver plunged about 6–8%.
Where key stocks and prices stood on Monday:
– Germany’s DAX was down just over 2% at midday.
– France’s CAC 40 was roughly 2% lower; the UK’s FTSE 100 showed similar losses before a late-morning recovery.
– Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 3.5% at 51,515.49 after an intraday low near 5% down.
– South Korea’s Kospi plunged about 6.5% to 5,405.75.
– Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 3.5%; the Shanghai Composite dropped 3.6%.
– Taiwan’s Taiex lost 2.5%; Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.7%.
– Gold and silver, recent top performers, were down nearly 7% and 8%, respectively.
– Crude oil rose marginally.
– 10‑year government bond yields in Western markets rose modestly.
The DAX has been sliding through the month since strikes on Tehran that began on February 28, falling below 22,000 points after trading above 25,000 before those attacks — a decline of more than 12%. France’s CAC 40 has dropped about 11% over the month. The UK’s FTSE 100 and major US indices have fared slightly better, with the FTSE down about 6.7% month‑to‑date, the Dow Jones down roughly 6.6% and the S&P 500 off nearly 5%.
Strait of Hormuz still blocked, no signs of de‑escalation
Monday’s slide followed a weekend in which US President Donald Trump warned the US would “obliterate” Iran’s power plants unless Tehran reopens the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. Tehran said it would respond to any such strikes by targeting US and Israeli energy and infrastructure assets in the region, and shipping through the strait remained disrupted.
International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol warned the economic instability from the conflict could be more severe than the 1970s oil shocks combined with the fallout from Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. “This crisis as things stand is now two oil crises and one gas crash put all together,” he said, calling it a “major, major threat” to the global economy.
Rising fuel costs are also complicating investors’ hopes for interest‑rate cuts later this year, since higher energy prices add inflationary pressure and make central banks less likely to ease borrowing costs.