The remains of a NATO air defense system that intercepted a missile fired from Iran are shown in Dorçol, southern Hatay province, Turkey, on March 4, 2026. This is a screenshot of this video.
Ifras News | via Reuters
Asia-Pacific markets opened lower on Monday as investors weighed the possibility of a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports after talks between Washington and Tehran failed to reach an agreement to end the Middle East conflict.
The collapse of negotiations in Islamabad over the weekend has reignited fears that the war between the United States and Iran could last longer than feared, leading to higher oil prices and continuing to strain economies around the world.
Oil prices soared Sunday after talks ended without an agreement and the United States moved to block traffic to Iranian ports. West Texas Intermediate rose 7.93% to $104.23 a barrel as of 9:27 p.m. ET. Brent crude oil rose 6.71% to $101.59 per barrel.
According to the Wall Street Journal, US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering restarting air strikes against Iran. President Trump last week agreed to a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday in exchange for Iran allowing ships to pass through the strait. He had previously threatened to bomb all bridges and power plants in Iran.
Japanese Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.72%, and TOPIX fell 0.20%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.73%, but the small-cap Kosdaq reversed its early decline and rose 0.42%. In Australia, S&P/ASX 200 The stock fell 0.38%.
Mainland China’s CSI300 index was flat, while Hong Kong’s CSI300 index was flat. Hang Seng Index 0.71% decrease
Overnight on Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 517 points, or 1.1%. S&P 500 futures fell 1.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.2%.
— CNBC’s Sarah Ming and Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.
