SINGAPORE: A selloff in stocks deepened and the dollar strengthened on Tuesday as investors considered the implications of US and Israeli strikes on Iran on energy prices and the global economy.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 2.9 percent to extend losses for a second day, led by a 7.2 percent plunge in Korean shares as the country reopened from a holiday with its biggest one-day decline since August 2024. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 3.1 percent and S&P 500 e-mini futures were down 0.9 percent.
“Economic policy uncertainty was already elevated and now with the Iran conflict, the geopolitical risk is expected to rise too,” said Rupal Agarwal, Asia quant strategist at Bernstein in Singapore. “Last time both spiked was in 2022 during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which didn’t work well for Asian markets.”
The renewed bout of selling came after Wall Street stabilized following a volatile session on Monday which saw the S&P 500 rally from an early selloff to close flat and the Nasdaq Composite climb 0.4 percent as investors bought the dip in markets.
US President Donald Trump sought to justify a broad, open-ended war on Iran, saying on Monday the campaign was ahead of expectations.
