A brutal wave of panic hit global stock markets on Monday as flaring West Asia tensions sent indices skidding and triggered a massive $4 spike in oil prices.
Following Wall Street’s worst market rout since October, South Korea's Kospi index took an absolute beating, plunging 8.3 per cent as investors aggressively dumped tech shares.
The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.2 per cent, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3 per cent.
The market chaos intensified after Israel launched early-morning airstrikes across Iran, triggering loud explosions in Tehran, Isfahan, and Tabriz.
Though US and Iranian diplomats managed a tentative ceasefire extension last week, the unfinalised deal is on the verge of collapse as active naval friction completely blocks vital oil shipments moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude, the international standard, jumped $4.60 to $97.69 a barrel. Benchmark US crude surged $4.13 to $94.67 a barrel.
In early European share trading, France's CAC 40 fell 0.7 per cent to 8,161.42, while the German DAX dipped 0.8 per cent to 24,552.77. Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.4 per cent to 10,331.24.
Also read: Crude oil prices drop sharply after fresh US-Iran skirmishes
During Asia's day, the Kospi in Seoul slipped 8.3 per cent to 7,484.41 as Samsung Electronics, the country's biggest company, dropped 10.2 per cent. SK Hynix declined 7.7 per cent.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 3.9 per cent to finish at 64,024.60. The Japanese government revised the annualised economic growth rate to 1.8 per cent for the first quarter this year, down from an earlier estimate of 2.1 per cent.
Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan's Taiex lost 3.5 per cent and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1.3 per cent to 24,642.33. The Shanghai Composite shed 1.7 per cent to 3,959.34.
Markets were closed in Australia for the King's Birthday, a holiday.
Friday marked the biggest one-day drop for Wall Street since October 10, when the Trump administration threatened to impose a 100 per cent tariff on imported goods from China.
The S&P 500 sank 2.6 per cent after a strong jobs report boosted expectations about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates this year, further darkening sentiment already dimmed by worries over a possible end to the rally in tech shares driven by the boom in investment in artificial intelligence.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite slumped 4.2 per cent.
In currency trading early Monday, the U.S. dollar inched down to 160.23 Japanese yen from 160.25 yen. The euro cost $1.1521, up from $1.1515.
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