<\/p>\n
Oil jumped, stocks and bonds fell after President Donald Trump signalled an escalation of the Iran war, saying the US would hit the country \u201cextremely hard\u201d over the next two to three weeks.<\/p>\n
MSCI\u2019s Asia Pacific share index dropped 1.7%, reversing a rebound from its worst month in more than 17 years, as Trump\u2019s speech undermined a nascent global stocks rally. Equity-index futures for the US and Europe declined more than 1% as concerns grew that a prolonged war will keep oil prices higher and weigh on economic growth.<\/p>\n
Brent crude jumped 5% to over $106 a barrel as the conflict keeps the Strait of Hormuz largely closed. The dollar strengthened, reinforcing its appeal as the haven of choice during the war. Treasuries fell, with the yield on two-year climbing four basis points to 3.84%. Precious metals tumbled with gold falling 1.6% to about $4 680 an ounce.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump\u2019s speech was not what the market had hoped for \u2014 namely, signals pointing toward an end to the conflict,\u201d said Jumpei Tanaka, head of investment strategy at Pictet Asset Management Japan. \u201cInstead, he suggested a potential escalation. The remarks are being interpreted as a negative factor for the equity market.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Investor confidence had been building in the run-up to Trump\u2019s speech after the president had earlier said he foresaw the US ending the war with Iran within two to three weeks. The change of tone in Trump\u2019s speech damped hopes for a quick conclusion of the conflict that has already roiled financial markets and pushed several equity gauges into correction territory.<\/p>\n
In the nearly 20-minute speech, Trump didn\u2019t outline any shift in Iran policy, nor did he provide specifics on how operations would proceed beyond what he has said before.<\/p>\n
Trump said the core strategic objectives are nearing completion in a speech from the White House. The president nevertheless suggested that military operations may soon escalate, saying \u201cover the next two to three weeks, we\u2019re going to bring them back to the stone ages where they belong.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Read: March is over, but what of the madness?
Secret codes, yuan get ships through Iran\u2019s Hormuz \u2018tollbooth\u2019
Fuel costs soar across Africa, governments race to respond<\/p>\n
The rare prime-time speech came as the president is grasping for an off-ramp in a conflict that has quickly slipped out of control.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe market was craving some clarity on when the conflict will finish, but this speech has just added more uncertainty,\u201d said Nick Twidale, chief market analyst at AT Global Markets. \u201cInvestors are clearly unimpressed and I think we could see more downside for global markets today.\u201d<\/p>\n
What Bloomberg\u2019s strategists say\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cRisk rallies will remain volatile in the short term and vulnerable to sustained reversals in the longer term because of the likelihood that even the best-case scenario for the conflict will create sustained, deep damage to global supply chains. This week\u2019s back-and-forth looks to be entrenching the likelihood that shipping through Hormuz will remain well short of pre-war levels for a substantial period.\u201d\u00a0 \u2013 Garfield Reynolds, MLIV Asia Team Leader. Click here for the full analysis.<\/p>\n
Hours ahead of the speech, the Iranian president took the unusual step of issuing a letter addressed to Americans, arguing that his country has no enmity with the US and has acted in self-defence.<\/p>\n
He warned that \u201ccontinuing along the path of confrontation is more costly and futile than ever before\u201d and noted that attacks on infrastructure directly target the Iranian people.<\/p>\n
Earlier, Trump said that Iran has asked for a ceasefire, adding that the US would only consider it if the Strait of Hormuz was reopened. Iran\u2019s foreign ministry said the claim of a ceasefire request was \u201cfalse and baseless,\u201d according to state TV.<\/p>\n
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The latest back-and-forth follows separate comments from Trump on Tuesday when the president said he foresaw the US ending the conflict within two to three weeks, sparking a sharp rally in stocks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile everyone wants to move on from this, there is still much to unpack from the past month\u2019s events in the Middle East,\u201d said Ken Wong, Asian equity portfolio specialist at Eastspring Investments Hong Kong. \u201cThe question now is how much these developments will ripple through the global economy over the coming quarters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of the main moves in markets:<\/p>\n
Stocks<\/p>\n
S&P 500 futures fell 1.1% as of 12:17 p.m. Tokyo time
\nJapan\u2019s Topix fell 1.2%
\nAustralia\u2019s S&P\/ASX 200 fell 0.9%
\nHong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng fell 0.9%
\nThe Shanghai Composite fell 0.5%
\nEuro Stoxx 50 futures fell 1.6%
\nCurrencies
\nThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%
\nThe euro fell 0.4% to $1.1546
\nThe Japanese yen fell 0.4% to 159.39 per dollar
\nThe offshore yuan fell 0.1% to 6.8874 per dollar<\/p>\n
Cryptocurrencies<\/p>\n
Bitcoin fell 2% to $66 780.63
\nEther fell 3.4% to $2 070.18<\/p>\n
Bonds<\/p>\n
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 4.36%
\nJapan\u2019s 10-year yield advanced 3.5 basis points to 2.335%
\nAustralia\u2019s 10-year yield advanced 11 basis points to 5.02%
\nCommodities
\nWest Texas Intermediate crude rose 4% to $104.10 a barrel
\nSpot gold fell 1.4% to $4 690.19 an ounce<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n
#Oil #jumps #Trumps #war #threat #stock #rally #fades<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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