From 1h agoIntroduction: Markets hit by Iran crisis and tech sell-offGood morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.Stock markets across Asia-Pacific countries are in retreat today, as investors fear a rise in US interest rates, renewed conflict in the Middle East, and an end to the AI boom.Major bourses are all in the red; South Korea’s KOSPI index fell by amost 9% at one point, forcing trading to be briefly suspended, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index is 3.8% lower.The sell-off followed a painful Friday on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 fell by 2.64%.Friday’s drop was triggered by a surprisingly strong US employment report, which left many traders concluding that the next move in US interest rates will be up, not down.Technology stocks have also been pummelled in recent days, on fears that the AI race is turning into a battle over who can raise, and spend, the most money, as ChatGPT and Anthropic prepare to float on the stock market.Add in renewed conflict in the Middle East today, and it’s a recipe for more losses across global markets…Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com, explains:
double quotation markThings could get a bit hairier today in the markets after a flare-up in geopolitical tensions over the weekend.
