Rocket trails are seen in the sky amid a fresh barrage of Iranian missile strikes on the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv on March 3, 2026.
Jack Guez | AFP | Getty Images
of South Korea Kospi Having seen its worst day in 19 months, it was weighed down by heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which fell about 10% and 12%, respectively, as trading resumed after the public holiday.
The index fell 7.24% to 5,791.91. Samsung shares fell after a report revealed that mass production at the company’s US plant in Taylor, Texas, has been pushed back from this year to 2027.
However, the country’s defense stocks rose, with some names gaining more than 20%.
Other Asia-Pacific markets fell as the conflict in Iran raged for a fourth day, stoking risk sentiment.
Oil prices extended gains after Iran reportedly closed the Strait of Hormuz, with US crude futures up 2.16% to $72.78 per barrel, while Brent was up 2.78% to trade at $79.91 per barrel as of 2.38 am ET.
An average of 14 million barrels passed through the strait last year, accounting for a third of the world’s total seaborne crude exports, according to Kpler data.
of Japan Nikki 225 It fell 3.06%, weighed by consumer cyclicals at 56,279.1, while the Topix fell 3.24% to 3,772.17.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.25% in its final hour of trading, while mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 1.54% to 4,655.9.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.34% to 9,077.3, after recording modest gains in some markets on Monday.
Overnight in the US, the S&P 500 rose 0.04% after a late rebound in the session. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.36%, recovering from a 1.6% loss.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 73.14 points, or 0.15%, to settle at 48,904.78. At its lows, the Dow was down nearly 600 points.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Yun Li contributed to this report.
(tags to translate) Breaking News: Asia
