Crude prices surged in afternoon trade on Monday after Iran halted talks with the US and vowed to totally shut the Strait of Hormuz, raising fears among investors that the broader Middle East crisis could intensify rather than move toward a peace settlement.
The US S&P 500 was little changed from the all-time high it hit on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 130 points, or 0.3 percent. The Nasdaq composite was unchanged. Both are also coming off records.
Elsewhere in Monday’s trade deals, Asia-Pacific markets were mixed overnight with South Korea’s Kospi gaining 1.31%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 moved up 0.17%. The broader Topix index, meanwhile, fell 0.3%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.21% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.73%. The CSI 300 in mainland China declined 0.32%.
Tokyo-listed shares in SoftBank Group, meanwhile, soared 5% after the Japanese company announced intentions to invest €45 billion over the next five years to build artificial intelligence infrastructure in France.
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