Asian stock markets fell for a third day in a row on Wednesday while oil prices edged higher as investors watch developments in the US-Israel war with Iran.
In choppy trade, South Korea's Kospi index was 6% lower in early trading. Japan's Nikkei 225 was more than 3% lower, while the ASX 200 in Australia was down by 1.8%.
Brent crude oil prices was about 1.5% higher in Asia morning trade after surging for the last two days.
The conflict in the Middle East has rattled financial markets and global energy prices have soared this week after vessels near the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping lane have come under attack.
Around a fifth of the world's oil and gas usually flows through the narrow waterway between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but traffic has almost entirely halted following Iran's threats to "set fire" to ships.
