Asia-Pacific markets set to fall as oil tops $100 amid escalating U.S.-Iran tensions

In this article Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT A screen displays Nikkei 225 Stock Average inside the Kabuto One building in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. Japanese stocks surged to fresh record highs, while bonds dropped, after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party secured a landslide victory. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets were set to mostly decline Monday as investors continued to monitor elevated oil prices and the latest developments in the escalating U.S.-Iran conflict. U.S. crude prices topped $100 per barrel as the Trump administration weighed military strikes on Tehran's Kharg Island, a strategically vital hub often referred to as Iran's "oil lifeline." U.S. crude oil rose 2.64% to $101.32 per barrel by 6:15 p.m. ET. Brent prices, the international benchmark, were up 2.94% to $106.17 per barrel. President Donald Trump on Friday ordered strikes against Iranian military assets on Kharg Island and warned of further attacks on crude facilities located there. Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, repeated the warning Sunday. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.31% in early trade. Japan's Nikkei 225 was poised to fall, with the Chicago contract at 53,305 and the futures contract in Osaka at 52,910 compared with the index's previous close of 53,819.61. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was set to open higher, with the futures contract at 25,481, compared with the index's last close of 25,465.6. Goldman Sachs estimates that the surge in energy prices stemming from the war in Iran could shave about 0.3% off global GDP over the next year, while pushing headline inflation higher by roughly 0.5% to 0.6%. Higher natural gas prices are expected to add further inflationary pressure and growth headwinds, particularly in Europe and Asia, with risks skewed toward larger impacts if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, the bank wrote in ...