Asian shares extended steep losses after Wall Street played down risks of a wider conflict in the Middle East.
Published on 3 March 2026
Stock markets in the Asia Pacific extended steep losses after Wall Street reversed wider losses on the US-Israeli war over Iran.
Major indexes in Japan, South Korea, Australia and China fell sharply on Tuesday as US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Iranian attacks on US allies in the region extended into a fourth day.
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South Korea’s KOSPI, the year’s best-performing index, saw the biggest losses, falling about 6.5 percent in afternoon trade.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 3 percent, while Australia’s ASX 200 fell 1.5 percent.
In China, the SSE composite index fell 1.3 percent before paring more losses later in the day.
Airlines, which canceled thousands of flights to the Middle East amid the conflict, saw some of the biggest losses, with Korean Air falling more than 9 percent and Japan Airlines sinking nearly 6 percent.
The Asia Pacific sell-off came after US stocks firmed overnight despite escalating economic risks from the widening conflict, including rising energy prices amid Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz.
The benchmark S&P 500 closed flat on Monday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.36 percent, although shares in major airlines including Delta and United fell sharply.
Oil prices rose 13 percent on Monday before easing overnight, with benchmarks West Texas Intermediate and Brent North Sea crude up 1.6 percent and 2.2 percent respectively as of 04:00 GMT.
Benchmark European gas prices jumped 50 percent on Monday after Qatar’s state-owned Qatar Energy announced it had halted production amid Iranian attacks in the region.
(tags to translate)Economy
