Asian stocks plunged the most in nearly a year, led by the biggest South Korean crash since the global financial crisis in 2008, as mounting concerns over the Iran war triggered an exodus from some of the world’s best-performing markets.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slumped as much as 4.5%, with South Korean stocks plunging as much as 12% amid mounting panic across trading desks. Before the slump, the Kospi Index — a poster child for AI investments — was the world’s best-performing gauge.
Japanese shares fell 3.7%, Hong Kong dipped 2.6% and India dropped 2%. Dubai stocks slipped 4.7% as trading resumed. While Asia saw sharp declines, equity-index futures signaled only modest losses for the US and Europe.
“Asian markets are choking on a toxic cocktail — surging energy prices, a resurgent dollar, and geopolitical tensions that nobody is sleeping through anymore,” said Hebe Chen, a senior market analyst at Vantage Global Prime. “This isn’t just a technical pullback but more of a psychological capitulation.”
The big moves in Asian stocks were in contrast to other markets, after President Donald Trump provided assurances on safeguarding shipping through the Strait of Hormuz helped calm nerves. Brent crude gained 2.1% — compared with jumps of 4.7% and 7.3% in the past two days — and gold gained 1.4%.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was up 0.2%. Treasuries were a touch weaker, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year up one basis point to 4.07%, after bond markets tumbled earlier in the week.
