Asian markets fell again. South Korea was hit the hardest. The Kospi index lost more than 8%, after which the exchange temporarily halted trading.
Against this backdrop, oil continued to rise. Brent and WTI climbed to about $116 per barrel. This jump was the sharpest one-day increase since 1988.
Precious metals behaved differently. Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium were all declining at this time.
Wall Street Opens Lower: Investors React to Iran War and Rising Oil Prices
US stocks started the week with losses. All three major indexes opened in the red. The market continues to react to the war in Iran and rising energy prices.
Dow Jones lost 719 points, about 1.5%. S&P 500 fell by 1.4%. Nasdaq Composite dropped by about the same amount.
For the Dow, this is a continuation of a weak streak. Last week, the index posted its worst performance in nearly a year.
At the same time, volatility increased. The Cboe VIX index rose above 30. Investors often call it the ‘fear index.’ Such levels were last seen during the selloff in April 2025.
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When the VIX rises this high, market participants usually start buying protective options more actively.
Not all sectors moved lower. Energy stocks rose at the start of trading. This happened amid another surge in oil prices.
Prices climbed above $100 per barrel after production cuts in Middle Eastern countries.
Among the top gainers were Exxon Mobil and Chevron. Shares of both companies rose nearly 1%. Valero Energy stock also gained about 1%. ConocoPhillips and Marathon Petroleum showed even stronger performance, rising more than 1%.
Defense stocks also rose before the market opened. The war in Iran had entered its tenth day by this point. Shares of RTX, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin were up about 1% at the time of publication.
These companies have been rising all month. RTX shares are up more than 3% since the start of the month, Northrop Grumman has gained over 4%, and Lockheed Martin is up about 2%.
Small-cap companies felt the most pressure. The ETF iShares Russell 2000 was down nearly 2% in premarket trading, indicating selloffs in riskier segments of the market.
Asian Markets Fall, Oil Soars, Pressure Shifts to US Futures
Asian markets plunged again on Monday. South Korea was hit the hardest.
The Kospi index lost more than 8%, after which the exchange halted trading for 20 minutes. This was the second automatic stop in the last four sessions. The decline later intensified. The index was down about 9%.
Oil prices surged. Brent jumped 26.1% to $116.08 per barrel. WTI gained 27.6%, reaching $116.03.
According to LSEG, this was the strongest one-day move in the oil market since late 1988.
Japanese stocks also plunged. The Nikkei 225 index lost 7.05% and fell below 52,000 for the first time since January. The Topix index fell by 5.36%.
Among individual companies, tech stocks fell the most. SoftBank dropped more than 11%. Chipmakers also plunged. Advantest lost more than 13%, Lasertec fell more than 11%.
Chinese markets held up a bit better but also closed lower. Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell by 2.75%. The CSI 300 index dropped by 1.65%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost about 3.2%, though it later partially recovered.
At the time of publication, the ASX 200 was at 8,599. Hang Seng was around 25,198. Kospi was trading near 5,138, and the Nikkei was just above 52,300.
The pressure also affected the metals market. Bullion prices at one point fell nearly 3%, dropping to about $5,015 per ounce.
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Later, some losses were pared. Spot gold fell 2.1% to $5,006. Silver lost 1.9%. Platinum fell by 2%, and palladium dropped by about 1%.
At the same time, the dollar strengthened. The DXY index rose by 0.6% after a 1.3% gain last week.
The pressure is already shifting to the US market. Dow Jones futures fell 1,026 points, or 2.33%. S&P 500 contracts dropped by 2.05%, and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 2.34%.
On the Truth Social platform, Donald Trump said that rising oil prices are ‘a very small price’ for eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat.
‘Only fools think otherwise,’ he wrote.
