Asian stocks plunged the most in nearly a year, led by the biggest South Korean crash since the global financial crisis in 2008, as mounting concerns over the Iran war triggered an exodus from some of the world’s best-performing markets. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slumped as much as 4.5%, with South Korean stocks plunging as much as 12% amid mounting panic across trading desks. Before the slump, the Kospi Index — a poster child for AI investments — was the world’s best-performing gauge. Japanese shares fell 3.7%, Hong Kong dipped 2.6% and India dropped 2%. Dubai stocks slipped 4.7% as trading resumed. While Asia saw sharp declines, equity-index futures signaled only modest losses for the US and Europe. The big moves in Asian stocks were in contrast to other markets, after President Donald Trump provided assurances on safeguarding shipping through the Strait of Hormuz helped calm nerves. Brent crude gained 2.1% — compared with jumps of 4.7% and 7.3% in the past two days — and gold gained 1.4%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was up 0.2%. Treasuries were a touch weaker, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year up one basis point to 4.07%, after bond markets tumbled earlier in the week. Dubai stocks fell 4.7% as trading resumed. The US-Israeli attack on Iran has destabilized the Middle East and threatens to deliver a new inflationary shock to the global economy by pushing up oil prices. There’s also no clear sense of when or how the war will end, raising the prospect of a prolonged conflict and unforeseen consequences beyond the White House’s control. Kerry Craig of JPMorgan Asset Management says Asian markets are experiencing continued repositioning by investors. The war continued to reverberate across the Middle East, with Israel bombarding Tehran in a fresh wave of strikes. The Islamic Republic fired missiles at Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, with Doha saying targets weren’t limited to military interests. Qatar and Iraq halted production at major energy sites. This conflict is different from Trump’s trade war, his talk of invading Greenland or his assault on the Federal Reserve’s independence, all of which unnerved investors globally. In each case, traders came to expect that Trump would backtrack if markets fell too far, a strategy that came to be known as the TACO trade, which stands for Trump Always Chickens Out — and created a buy-the-dip mentality that allowed stocks to rally back. Markets are focused on oil as traders weighed Trump’s plan to insure and escort tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, with traffic in the vital waterway all but halted. Oil extended gains, with Brent hovering just above $82 a barrel after rallying about 12% over two days, the biggest gain since 2020. Oil’s advance and the dollar’s strength are a combination that’s not ideal for Asian economies. The dollar’s two-day gain is the most in nearly a year. A gauge of Asian currencies fell to the lowest since January this week, with the decline limited as China sought to anchor the yuan. Even after the losses this week, Asian stocks are up about 5% this year, on top of a 25% jump in 2025. Equities have rallied since their slump in April — caused by Trump’s tariffs announcement — on bets the billions spent by companies on artificial intelligence will pay off. US After Hours ROST +5.8%, BOX +3.7% higher on earnings; MRNA +9.4% on settlement agreement; WBTN -13.6%, STAA -11.2%, GTLB -8.3%, CRWD -0.9% lower on earnings.
Nikkei -4% Hang Seng -2.92% CSI -1.40% Shanghai -1.20% Shenzen -0.65%
Eur$ 1.1598 CNH 6.9277 CNY 6.9217 JPY 157.62 GBP 1.3315 CHF 0.7815 RUB 77.5670 TRY 43.9903 WTI$ 76.04 +1.89% Gold 5,142 +0.86% BTC 68,143 +.08% ETH 1,965 _0.09%
S&P -0.53% Nasdaq -0.78% EuroStoxx +0.05% FTSE +0.30% Dax +0.33% SMI +0.28%
Macro :
- Fleet of AI Bots Will Supercharge Hedge Fund Power, Nettimi Says
- Apollo’s Rowan Warns of Shakeout Coming for Private Markets
- Apollo’s Rowan Warns of Shakeout Coming for Private Markets
- Israel Attacks Clerical Body Meant to Choose Iran’s Next Leader
- Trump Says US Will Escort, Insure Oil Tankers Amid Iran War
- Merz Says EU Won’t Accept US Trade Deal on Worse Tariff Terms
- Goldman’s Solomon Surprised by ‘Benign’ Market Reaction to War
Keep an eye on :
Keep an eye on :
- ABUS US :Moderna to Pay Almost $1 Billion to Settle Arbutus Litigation +35%
- ADS GY ; Adidas Extends CEO Gulden’s Contract Until 2030
- ADS GY : Adidas Sees 2026 Operating Profit About EU2.3B, Est. EU2.69B
- AED BB : Aedifica to Own ~80% of Cofinimmo Shares After Exchange Offer
- Anthropic IPO : Anthropic’s Claude Being Used by US Military in Iran War: CBS
- AT1 GY : Aroundtown FY Adjusted Ebitda Beats Estimates
- ASM NA : ASM Intl 4Q Orders Beats Estimates
- BNJ NA : France’s Banijay to Merge With All3Media to Form TV Powerhouse
- BAYN GY : Bayer Sees 2026 Adjusted Ebitda EU9.6B to EU10.1B, Est. EU9.75B
- BEZ LN : Beazley FY Pretax Profit Beats Estimates
- GBF GY : Bilfinger Sees 2026 Sales EU5.4B to EU5.9B, Est. EU5.72B
- CON GY : Continental Sees 2026 Adjusted Ebit Margin About 11% to 12.5%
- BA/ LN : Australia Awards A$163 Million 7-Year Contract to BAE Systems
- CEVA SW : Italy Finance Police Seize Over €27M From Ceva Logistics
- CRGY US : Crescent Is Said to Offer Up to 3.25% Coupon on Convertible Bond
- CRWD US : CrowdStrike 1Q Revenue Forecast Matches Estimates
- DIE BB : D’Ieteren Taps Rothschild to Explore Options for Stake in Belron
- EAPI FP : EuroAPI FY Revenue Misses Estimates
- EQT SS : EQT Resolves on Buyback of Own Ordinary Shares
- EVK GY : Evonik FY Dividend per Share Misses Estimates
- FBK IM : FinecoBank Expects Stable Banking Fees in 2026
- GTLB US : Gitlab Shares Fall After 2027 EPS Forecast Trails Estimate
- GYC GY : Grand City Properties FY FFO I EU188M Vs. EU188M Y/y
- HBR LN : Harbour Energy, Lion, IG Set to Join FTSE 100: Panmure Liberum
- IMPN SW : Implenia FY Sales Miss Estimates
- IG IM : Italgas FY Adjusted Ebitda Meets Estimates
- DEC FP : JCDecaux Gets 10-Year Contract at Denver International Airport
- MAERSKB DC : Maersk Adds Freight Fee to Middle East Container Shipments
- META US : Meta to Pay News Corp Up to $50 Million Annually to License Content for Training, Output - WSJ
- MRNA US : Moderna to Pay up to $2.25b in Settlement With Roivant, Arbutus
- NTGY SM : GIP Fund Said to Allocate 60% of Naturgy Block to 10 Investors
- NTGY SM : CriteriaCaixa Increases Stake in Naturgy to 28.5%
- NKT DC : NKT Signs €2.2b Contract for UK’s Eastern Green Link 3 Project
- NHY NO : Norsk Hydro Shuts Down Qatalum Aluminum Production
- NOVOB DC : Novo’s Latest Ozempic Ad Misleads Viewers, FDA Says
- NOS PL : NOS 4Q Net Income Beats Estimates
- NVDA US : Nvidia Backs Another UK Driverless Startup in $103 Million Round
- PSKY US : Paramount to Join Biggest Junk Borrower Ranks After Warner Deal
- QLT LN : Quilter FY Adjusted Pretax Profit Beats Estimates
- RDC GY : Redcare Pharmacy NV FY Adj. Ebitda EU57.4M Vs. EU33.3M Y/y (1)
- RDC GY : Redcare Pharmacy NV Sees 2026 Adj. Ebitda Margin at Least 2.5%
- ROIV US : Moderna to Pay up to $2.25b in Settlement With Roivant, Arbutus
- ROSE LN : Rosebank Offering of 575.8m Shares Prices at GBp330/Share
- ROSE LN : Rosebank Offering of 575.8m Shares Prices at GBp330/Share
- SAN SM : US, Spain to Resume ‘Amazing’ Ties Soon, Santander’s Botin Says
- SCR FP : Scor 4Q Net Income Beats Estimates
- SHEL LN : Raízen’s Owners Abandon Talks to Rescue Struggling Fuel Producer
- SHI LN : SIG FY Underlying Revenue Meets Estimates
- ENR GY : Siemens Energy to Repurchase Up to €2 Billion of Its Shares
- SIX2 GY : Sixt Sees 2026 Revenue EU4.45B to EU4.6B, Est. EU4.51B
- Space X IPO : Elon Musk’s SpaceX Is Said to Add Citigroup to IPO Bank Lineup
- SY1 GY : Symrise Sees 2026 Organic Sales +2% to +4%, Est. +3.09%
- TEVA IT : Teva, Blackstone Life Sciences Ink $400m Drug Development Pact
- 8TRA GY : Traton Sees 2026 Adj. Oper Margin 5.3% to 7.3%, Est. 7.13%
- WEIR LN : Weir Group FY Adjusted Operating Profit Meets Estimates