The biggest disruption to global air transport since the coronavirus pandemic continued on March 1, with thousands of flights affected and busy Middle East hubs such as Dubai and Doha closed, as Iran lashed out after the U.S. and Israeli attacks.
Justin Tallis | AFP | Getty Images
Airlines stocks led losses in Asian markets on Monday as airspace disruptions and airport closures in the Middle East destabilized the travel market, while higher oil prices boosted energy stocks amid the escalating Iran conflict.
singapore airlines fell more than 6%, continuing the sector’s pace of decline. Japanese ANA and Japan Airlines Each fell more than 4%, with Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific dropping 3.63%. australian Qantas Airways and Taiwan’s EVA Air Shares fell more than 4% as investors factored in higher fuel costs and disruptions to operations.
Oil futures also soared as the conflict between the US and Israel intensified following the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
US President Donald Trump said Sunday that combat operations in Iran will continue after three US service members were killed.
Crude oil futures initially rose 8%, but have since narrowed their gains to about 4%. West Texas Intermediate futures last traded at $69.68 and Brent crude oil at $76.13 per barrel. Gold futures rose 2.3% as investors flocked to the global safe-haven asset.
Asian energy stocks rose on the back of rising oil prices. woodside energy In Australia, INPEX In Japan, China National Offshore Petroleum Corporation (Hong Kong) rose more than 5%.
Defense stocks in the region also rose more modestly. Japanese Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and IHI It increased by more than 1%. Singapore’s ST Engineering rose 2%.
Other major Asian defense stocks were not trading on Monday as South Korean markets were closed for a public holiday.
Japanese Nikkei Stock Average The index fell by 1.2%, narrowing its previous decline, and TOPIX fell by 1.34%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index Mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 0.25%, opening 1.15% lower.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.48%, but losses were partially offset by gains in the oil and gold mining sectors.
Stock futures fell in overnight trading following a weekend strike in Iran. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 517 points, or 1%. S&P 500 futures fell 1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures also fell more than 1%.
