Global Stocks Sink as Oil Prices Surge

Global markets came under renewed pressure at the start of the week as surging oil prices stemming from the conflict in Iran weighed on stocks and bonds from New York to Tokyo.

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New York Times

U.S. markets fell at Monday's open, with the S&P 500 down roughly 1 percent as trading opened Monday morning.

New York Times

That followed a drop of more than 2 percent last week, the biggest weekly decline for the benchmark index in about five months.

Asian and European markets also tumbled, rattling investors.

Brent Crude, the international benchmark, on Monday surged above $100 for the first time in almost four years.

The surge raised prices for consumers at the pump.

New York Times

European stock markets opened sharply lower, with the Stoxx Europe 600 falling over 1 percent and bourses in London, Paris and Frankfurt all falling.

In Asia, the benchmark index in South Korea dropped almost 6 percent.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 5.2 percent, Taiwan’s Taiex declined over 4 percent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell more than 1 percent.

Investors have become increasingly concerned about the fallout from the war with Iran as the conflict moves into its second week, with a potential resolution to stop the fighting and keep oil supplies moving out of the Middle East still unclear.

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New York Times

The economies of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are among the world's most vulnerable to disruptions in the flow of natural gas and oil from the Middle East: Japan imports around 90 percent of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz, South Korea depends on the Middle East for about 70 percent of its crude imports, and about 60 percent of Taiwan's oil and a third of its natural gas arrives by ship via the strait.