TOKYO – Japan’s Nikkei index plummeted more than 3 per cent in early trading on Sept 11, with markets anxious that renewed tensions in the Middle East and surging oil prices could fuel inflationary pressures.At around 9.15am local time (8.15am Singapore time), the Nikkei 225 was down 3.03 per cent at 63,291 points.The international benchmark Brent crude was still up 0.5 per cent at US$108.15 after surging 6.34 per cent the previous day.The benchmark US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, jumped above US$100 a barrel on Sept 10 after Yemen’s Houthis seized control of the strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha.Major Wall Street indexes spent the entire session in the red, with the S&P 500 falling 0.6 per cent, dropping for a fourth straight day.“Although President (Donald) Trump has said that the war will end after the November midterm elections, there is no way that the market can believe this claim, as the situation remains perilous,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. AFP