Pedestrians walk past an electronic quotation board displaying the Nikkei Stock Average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange along a street in Tokyo on May 18, 2026. — AFP pic (New users only) It's tax relief season! Get up to RM300 when you save with Versa! Plus, enjoy an additional FREE RM10 when you sign up using code VERSAMM10 with a min. cash-in of RM100 today. T&Cs apply. Wednesday, 20 May 2026 4:53 PM MYT HONG KONG, May 20 — Asian markets extended their losses today as surging bond yields and stubborn inflation concerns knocked investor confidence already shaken by US President Donald Trump’s renewed threats to strike Iran.Regional equities tracked losses in Wall Street, where the S&P 500 and the tech-rich Nasdaq posted a third straight day of declines, with the yield on the 30-year US Treasury climbing to levels last seen in 2007.High energy prices sparked by the Middle East war have fuelled fears of inflation, in turn prompting the bond sell-off.Trump told reporters at the White House yesterday that he had been just “an hour away” from relaunching Washington’s attacks on Iran before postponing the order, after weeks of a fragile truce and stalled talks to end the war that began late February.“You know how it is to negotiate with a country where you’re beating them badly. They come to the table, they’re begging to make a deal,” he said.“I hope we don’t have to do the war, but we may have to give them another big hit. I’m not sure yet.”Iran’s army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia warned that the Islamic republic would “open new fronts against” the US if it resumed its attacks.Trump offered a deadline of several days for resuming strikes if a deal was not agreed.“I’m saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, maybe early next week, a limited period of time,” he said.Since the US and Israel began their war with Iran, the Strait of Hormuz — a key energy corridor which normally sees 20 per cent of global crude transit through — has been effectively closed to shipping.Brent, the international benchmark, remained above US$110 (about RM436.97) a barrel and West Texas Intermediate topped US$103, raising concerns that inflation could remain elevated for longer and erode corporate margins as well as consumer demand.Across Asia, most markets were in the red. Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Wellington, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur were down while Bangkok was in the green.In Europe, London, Paris and Frankfurt traded lower.The retreat comes just days after a tech-driven rally pushed global equities to fresh highs.But investors are increasingly questioning whether the artificial intelligence-led surge in valuations has outrun underlying fundamentals.A workers’ dispute at South Korean chip giant Samsung Electronics threatened to turn into a strike, after talks on bonus payouts collapsed today. But talks resumed with government intervention.The threat of industrial action at Samsung — potentially involving tens of thousands of employees — has triggered alarm in Seoul, where officials warn prolonged disruption could ripple through exports, chip output and wider economic growth.Attention is also turning to upcoming earnings from chip giant Nvidia as investors determine whether huge spending on AI data centres is justified by potential returns.Gold and silver, typically seen as safe-haven assets, held near recent losses as rising yields reduced their appeal. — AFP