SEOUL (Realist English). Asian stock markets fell sharply on Monday as oil prices surged toward $120 per barrel following production cuts by major Middle Eastern producers and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index led the regional decline, dropping more than 8% and triggering a circuit breaker that halted trading for 20 minutes beginning at 10:31 a.m. local time. By late morning, the index remained down about 8.6%.
Shares of major technology companies were among the hardest hit. Samsung Electronics fell more than 10%, while semiconductor producer SK Hynix declined roughly 12%.
It marked the second time in four trading sessions that the Kospi had triggered a circuit breaker. Last week the index recorded its worst single-day decline after plunging more than 12%.
The market turmoil came as oil prices recorded their largest single-day jump in decades. Brent crude futures surged about 26% to roughly $116 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed nearly 28% to around $116 as well. According to market data, the spike represents the biggest one-day gain in oil prices since the late 1980s.
The surge followed production cuts by several Middle Eastern oil exporters — including Kuwait, Iran and the United Arab Emirates — after tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted by the escalating regional conflict.
The narrow waterway handles roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments and is considered one of the most critical chokepoints for global energy supplies.
Japan’s markets also suffered steep losses. The Nikkei 225 index fell more than 7%, dropping below the 52,000 level for the first time since January, while the broader Topix index declined about 5.4%.
Shares of major technology firms contributed to the slide. SoftBank Group dropped more than 11%, while semiconductor-related companies Advantest and Lasertec fell over 13% and 11% respectively.
Chinese markets recorded smaller declines. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell about 2.7%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 index lost roughly 1.6%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also declined, dropping about 3.2% after partially recovering from earlier losses.
The volatility spread to US markets, where stock futures pointed to a weaker opening. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 800 points, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures both slipped around 1.6%.
Despite the turbulence in energy and financial markets, US President Donald Trump defended the surge in oil prices, writing on social media that the increase represented “a very small price to pay” for eliminating what he described as Iran’s nuclear threat.