Global stock markets fell broadly on Monday as investors reacted to another weekend with no sign of de‑escalation in Iran or the wider Gulf, while energy prices continued to climb.
Major Asian markets dropped sharply and European indices were down around 2% in morning trade. Government bond yields ticked up modestly and gold and silver, which had been recent outperformers, plunged roughly 6–8%.
Where key benchmarks stood on Monday:
– Germany’s DAX was down just over 2% at midday.
– France’s CAC 40 slipped roughly 2%; 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 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 declining through the month since strikes on Tehran that began on February 28, slipping below 22,000 after trading above 25,000 before those attacks — a fall of more than 12%. France’s CAC 40 has dropped about 11% over the month. The UK’s FTSE 100 and major U.S. indices have held up slightly better: the FTSE is down about 6.7% month‑to‑date, the Dow Jones is down roughly 6.6% and the S&P 500 is off nearly 5%.
Geopolitical tensions remain high. The Strait of Hormuz was still disrupted and there were no clear signs of de‑escalation after U.S. President Donald Trump warned the United States would “obliterate” Iran’s power plants unless Tehran reopened the strait within 48 hours. Tehran responded that it would retaliate against U.S. and Israeli energy and infrastructure targets in the region if struck, and shipping through the strait remained affected.
International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol cautioned that the economic fallout from the conflict could be exceptionally severe, describing the situation as equivalent to “two oil crises and one gas crash put all together” and calling it a “major, major threat” to the global economy.
Higher fuel costs are also clouding hopes for interest‑rate cuts later in the year, since rising energy prices add upward pressure to inflation and make central banks less likely to ease borrowing costs in the near term.