Asia-Pacific markets opened lower Tuesday as the conflict in the Middle East keeps investors jittery, with crude oil prices continuing to rise.
U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his threat on Monday, saying that the U.S. would destroy Iran's electricity-generating plants, oil wells and Kharg Island, if the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz remains closed and no peace deal is reached to end the war.
His remarks came as the Iran war entered its fifth week and as the Trump administration weighs sending in ground forces to seize Kharg Island, a major fuel hub which facilitates 90% of Iran's crude exports.
Shipping traffic through the Hormuz waterway, through which a fifth of the global seaborne oil used to transit before the conflict, has virtually ground to a halt since U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
The West Texas Intermediate rose more than 3% to settle just below $103 a barrel on Monday, pushing above the $100 level for the first time since 2022. May futures for the International benchmark Brent crude rose 0.19%, or 21 cents, to close at $112.78 per barrel. WTI was last up 2.8% at 105.8.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 tumbled 0.12% in early Asia trade.
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.84% while broad-based Topix dropped 0.57%.
South Korea's blue-chip Kospi declined 2.4% and the small-cap Kosdaq slipped 0.77%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 24,683, compared with the index's last close of 24,750.8.
Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 fell 0.39% to finish at 6,343.72, marking its third losing session in a row while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.73% to end at 20,794.64. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the trend to rise 0.11% to 45,216.
U.S. stock futures were little changed, with futures tied to the S&P 500 slipping less than 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures shed 0.1% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 23 points, or less than 0.1%.
The stocks pulled back even as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that inflation outlook remains in check despite rising energy prices and the central bank does not need to respond with higher interest rates.
