DOW JONES–The attacks by the USA and Israel against Iran caused some heavy losses on the East Asian stock markets at the beginning of the week. In return, oil prices are rising sharply and investors are increasingly shifting to “safe havens” such as gold. The stock exchanges in Hong Kong and Tokyo recorded the most significant losses, where the Hang Seng Index and the Nikkei 225 each fell by 1.6 percent. In Hong Kong, there are additional taxes on technology stocks.
Iran wants to resume negotiations with the United States, just a day after the killing of Islamist regime leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to US President Donald Trump. “They want to talk and I have agreed to talk, so I will talk to them,” Trump told the US political magazine The Atlantic. Trump did not give a timetable for talks, although he did say that some of the Iranian officials who were previously involved in talks with the US are now dead.
The reaction to the attacks against Iran on the oil market is particularly clear. The prices for Brent and WTI rose by 6.2 percent each. At its peak it was almost 10 percent. Oil prices could continue to rise in the short term, according to Norbert Rucker from Julius Baer. The impact of the Middle East conflict on the global economy depends on the flow of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the head of economics and next generation research. “In the coming weeks, our base case is the usual pattern of a short-lived, but this time more intense, increase in oil and gas prices,” said Rucker.
The Shanghai composite shows little change. U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran could pose “a bigger problem” for China than U.S. operations in Venezuela, according to Natixis economist Alicia Garcia Herrero. The risk to China’s energy security is significantly greater because China imports more oil from Iran than from Venezuela, she notes. In addition, Iran delivered cheap crude oil that circumvented US sanctions. China also has a 25-year strategic partnership with Iran, signed in 2021, which includes a $400 billion investment in Iran’s energy, infrastructure and technology sectors.
We are also looking ahead to the National People’s Congress later this week. This will adopt the 15th five-year plan (2026 to 2030), which focuses on technological sovereignty, “new productive forces” and the modernization of industry. The market expects further stimulus measures for the economy.
Securities exchanges in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market, will remain closed on Monday and Tuesday due to ongoing tensions in the region. The supervisory authority announced this on Sunday and said it would continue to closely monitor developments in the region, continually assess the situation and take further measures if necessary.
The attacks on Iran are driving up the price of gold as a “safe haven”. “Gold remains the clearest gauge of investor fear,” writes eToro’s Josh Gilbert. The precious metal rose above $5,350 an ounce in the morning and has gained around 22 percent since the beginning of the year, underscoring its role as a preferred safe haven amid escalating geopolitical risks, the market analyst said. The troy ounce rose in price by 1.4 percent to $5,351.
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INDEX last +/- % % YTD trading close
S&P/ASX 200 (Sydney) 9,200.90 +0.0 5.6 06:00
Nikkei-225 57,903.50 -1.6 — 07:00
Topix 500 (Tokyo) 3,024.73 -1.5 13.7 07:00
Kospi (Seoul) 6,244.13 -1.0 48.2 07:30
Hang-Seng (Hongk.) 26,209.91 -1.6 2.3 09:00
Shanghai Comp. 4,163.01 0.0 4.9 08:00
FOREX last +/- % 00:00 Fri, 08:35 % YTD
EUR/USD 1.1776 -0.3 1.1813 1.1805 0.3
EUR/JPY 184.49 +0.1 184.39 184.22 0.3
EUR/GBP 0.8767 +0.1 0.8762 0.8761 0.6
USD/JPY 156.66 +0.4 156.05 156.03 0.2
USD/KRW 1,454.67 +1.1 1,439.20 1,438.90 1.0
USD/CNY 6.8733 +0.2 6.8579 6.8548 -1.7
USD/CNH 6.8721 +0.2 6.8599 6.8507 -1.5
USD/HKD 7.8225 0.0 7.8225 7.8240 0.5
AUD/USD 0.7087 -0.4 0.7113 0.7120 6.2
NZD/USD 0.5967 -0.5 0.5996 0.5989 3.7
BTC/USD 66,688.89 +1.5 65,686.00 67,607.87 -24.0
CRUDE OIL last +/- % +/- abs. End of the previous day
WTI/Nymex 71.15 +6.2 4.13 67.02
Brent/ICE 77.39 +6.2 4.52 72.87
Metals last +/- % +/- abs. End of the previous day
Gold 5,351.28 +1.4 73.99 5,277.29
Silver 93.66 -0.2 -0.16 93.82
Platinum 2,361.26 -0.1 -3.49 2,364.75
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 02, 2026 00:24 ET (05:24 GMT)
