HONG KONG: Oil prices jumped further above $100 Monday, and Asian stocks mostly fell as the US-Israeli war on Iran moved into a third week with both sides showing no sign of backing down and diplomats trying to ensure safe passage for tankers through the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Crude shot up in the opening minutes after the US president said at the weekend that forces struck military targets on Kharg Island, a scrubby stretch of land in the Gulf that handles almost all of Iran&#39;s oil exports. He also warned attacks could expand to energy infrastructure if the Islamic Republic interferes with transit through Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the US-Israel war began on Feb. 28. Iran&#39;s Fars news agency reported soon after that no oil infrastructure was damaged in strikes. Trump urged other countries to send warships to keep the waterway open but offered no specifics or commitments from the US side, saying he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea and the UK would take part. He later wrote Saturday in a Truth Social post: &quot;The Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help -- A LOT!&quot;This should have always been a team effort, and now it will be.&quot; However, Japan said Monday it was &quot;not at the moment considering issuing a maritime security operation&quot;, while Australia announced it would not send any navy ships to the region. Trump said Tehran wanted a deal to end the fighting, but that he was not prepared to make one on current terms, without giving further details. &#39;Don&#39;t see any reason&#39;Iran&#39;s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country was not interested in talks with Washington. &quot;We don&#39;t see any reason why we should talk with Americans, because we were talking with them when they decided to attack us,&quot; he told CBS&#39;s &quot;Face The Nation&quot; in an interview aired Sunday. &quot;We never asked for a ceasefire, and we have never asked even for negotiation,&quot; he added. However, he did say he was ready to speak to countries &quot;who want to talk to us about the safe passage of their vessels&quot;. &quot;I cannot mention any country in particular, but we have been approached by a number of countries&quot; seeking such safe passage, Araghchi said. The two sides continued to exchange fire Monday, with Saudi Arabia saying it had intercepted more than 60 drones since midnight, while flights were temporarily suspended at Dubai&#39;s airport after a &quot;drone-related incident&quot; sparked a fire nearby. Araghchi described Israeli strikes on Tehran fuel depots as &quot;ecocide&quot; owing to the long-term risks to residents&#39; health. Traders hoping for an early end to the conflict were left disappointed after Trump&#39;s top economics adviser, Kevin Hassett, said the Pentagon estimates it could take up to six weeks, though the operation was ahead of schedule. Both main crude contracts advanced, with Brent up around three percent to as high as $106.50 before paring the gains to about $104, while West Texas Intermediate climbed more than two percent to top $100. The rise came as Japan said it was beginning the release of its strategic oil reserves after the International Energy Agency indicated earlier that the release would begin in Asia and Oceania before other regions. IEA members agreed last week to release a record 400 million barrels from stockpiles to cushion the surge in prices caused by the war. With worries growing about a possible energy crisis that could hammer the global economy, equity markets remained under pressure. Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Wellington, Taipei, Manila, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta were all down, though Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore rose. London, Frankfurt and Paris rose at the open. &quot;The impact of geopolitical events on markets, and the macro outlook, hinges more on when transits through the Strait of Hormuz begin to normalise, than it does on when hostilities come to an end,&quot; wrote Michael Brown at Pepperstone. &quot;The longer the Strait is impassable, the tighter commodity supply will become, thus the higher prices will likely go, and the greater the inflationary impulse that will follow.&quot; Adding to economic concerns was data showing Friday that fourth-quarter US gross domestic product expanded 0.7%, much slower than the initial reading of 1.4%. And delayed figures showed the Federal Reserve&#39;s preferred inflation gauge dipped to 2.8% in Jan. before energy prices shot higher. &quot;Developments over the weekend, while no more disconcerting than at the end of last week, don&#39;t offer any obvious pretext for a less pessimistic start to the new trading week,&quot; warned National Australia Bank&#39;s Ray Attrill. Also in view this week are policy meetings at seven major central banks including the Fed, Bank of England and the European Central Bank. While they are expected to stand pat on interest rates, any remarks on the impact of the war on their respective economies will be closely followed. Key figures at around 0815 GMTWest Texas Intermediate: UP 2,1% at $100.81 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: UP 3.0%&nbsp;at $106.20 per barrel Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1% at 53,751.15 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.5% at 25,834.02 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.3% at 4,084.79 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4% at 10,303.69 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1424 from $1.1416 on Friday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3240 from $1.3223 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 159.30 yen from 159.74 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.29 pence from 86.33 pence New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3% at 46,558.47 points (close)

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Oil prices jumped further, and Asian stocks mostly fell as the US-Israeli war on Iran moved into a third week with both sides showing no sign of backing down and diplomats trying to ensure safe passage for tankers through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

Oil rises further above $100, most Asian stocks fall as Iran war rages

HONG KONG:&nbsp;Asian stocks mostly rose and the dollar fell Monday after the US Supreme Court struck down a large part of President Donald Trump&#39;s tariffs policy that had sent shockwaves through the global economy last year. The rally was led by tech firms, which have been at the forefront of regional gains this year as traders turn away from Wall Street to seek out cheaper investments amid concerns about extended valuations. Trump&#39;s trade agenda was dealt a hefty blow Friday when the country&#39;s top court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act used by the White House to impose sweeping levies in April &quot;does not authorize the president to impose tariffs&quot;. Global tariff&nbsp;The president immediately vowed to impose a global tariff of 10% under a separate authority, before raising it to 15% on Saturday. However, the development fanned a fresh round of uncertainty, with calls growing for the government to repay cash taken under the scheme and analysts warning officials would likely pursue other ways of imposing his tolls. &ldquo;The first observation to make is that IEEPA tariffs may be dead, but Trump&#39;s trade regime isn&#39;t,&rdquo; wrote Rodrigo Catril at National Australia Bank. &quot;The administration has several avenues it can pursue, these are likely to be litigated over several years, but there is no sign President Trump is planning to back down. &quot;Another conclusion is that the tariff landscape is now more uncertain than before, uncertainty is not good news for any economy or market. &quot;Unless commonsense prevails, we could be entering a circular process where new tariffs are announced, then potentially overturned, only for new tariffs to be announced, and we do the dance again.&quot; EU-US deal &nbsp;The decision also raised questions about trade deals Washington has signed. European leaders had been due to approve the EU-US deal on Tuesday but the head of the European Parliament&#39;s trade committee said he would call Monday for putting &quot;legislative work on hold until we have a proper legal assessment and clear commitments from the US side&quot;. And Bloomberg reported that Indian trade officials will postpone a trip to the United States aimed at finalizing their interim agreement. Still, Asian investors welcomed the news, which is seen benefiting China and India, with tech firms the best performers. Hong Kong rose more than two percent, with ecommerce titans Alibaba and JD.com surging more than three percent, while Seoul hit another record high thanks to big advances for chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Singapore, Wellington, Taipei and Manila also rose, though Sydney dipped. Tokyo and Shanghai were closed for holidays. The strong start to the week followed gains on Wall Street, where the tariff ruling overshadowed data showing the US economy grew much slower than expected in the fourth quarter of 2025, when it was hit by the extended government shutdown. The uncertainty also weighed on the dollar, which was well down against the yen, pound and euro. Oil prices&nbsp;And oil prices dropped more than one percent amid hopes for an Iran nuclear deal. That has tempered last week&#39;s concerns about a possible US strike on the country after Trump warned &quot;bad things happen&quot;, as he deployed warships, fighter jets and other military hardware to the Middle East. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Key figures at around 0220 GMT&nbsp;</h2>Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.5% at 27,066.21 Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1823 from $1.1788&nbsp;on Friday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3517 from $1.3487 Euro/pound: UP at 87.47 pence from 87.37 pence Dollar/yen: DOWN at 154.15 yen from 155.02 yen West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.3% at $65.63 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.3% at $70.86 per barrel New York - Dow: UP 0.5% at 49,625.97 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6% at 10,686.89 (close)

The strong start to the week followed gains on Wall Street, where the tariff ruling overshadowed data showing the US economy grew much slower than expected in the fourth quarter of 2025, when it was hit by the extended government shutdown.

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Oil rises further above $100, most Asian stocks fall as Iran war rages

Asian stocks rally after Trump's Supreme Court tariffs blow