Currency dealers monitor exchange rates as the Korean Standard Stock Price Index (KOSPI) is displayed on an electronic screen (above) in the foreign exchange dealing room of Hana Bank’s main branch in Seoul on March 13, 2026.
Jung Young Jae | AFP | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on Monday as investors remained cautious about developments in the Middle East amid renewed tensions between Iran and the United States.
President Donald Trump announced Sunday that a U.S. Navy missile destroyer shelled and disabled an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman before Marines boarded and captured the ship.
The seizure is an escalation of the blockade and comes after Iran opened fire on a commercial ship attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz early Sunday. This strait lies between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
The United States has imposed a naval blockade on ships entering and leaving Iranian ports since last week. Iran views the ongoing blockade as a violation of the ceasefire agreed to by the United States and Iran, citing it as one of the reasons for canceling negotiations scheduled for Monday in Islamabad.
President Trump on Sunday threatened to “destroy every Iranian power plant and every bridge” if Iran doesn’t agree to Washington’s terms to end the conflict.
West Texas Intermediate futures were up 6.20% at $89.05 a barrel as of 11:45 p.m. ET. Brent crude oil rose 5.40% to $95.26 per barrel.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.03%, and the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.71%. SK Hynix was one of the best-performing companies on the Kospi Index, rising more than 3% on news that it has begun mass production of next-generation AI server memory. NvidiaVera Rubin Platform.
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.03% and TOPIX rose 0.65%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed.
Mainland China’s CSI300 index rose 0.54%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.89%.
China has kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged for the 11th straight month as escalating tensions in the Middle East have pushed up energy prices and weighed on growth prospects.
The decision came as the world’s second-largest economy grew by 5% in the first quarter, from 4.5% in the previous quarter, reaching the high end of its full-year target range. The Chinese government has lowered its 2026 growth target to a range of 4.5% to 5%, the least ambitious goal since the 1990s.
India’s Nifty 50 was slightly lower, down 0.1%.
Overnight on Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 425 points, or 0.9%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.8% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.65%.
During Friday’s regular session, the S&P 500 index rose 1.2% to close at 7,126.06, passing the 7,100 milestone for the first time. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.52% to settle at 24,468.48, marking its 13th consecutive day of wins and the longest positive streak since 1992. Both indexes set new intraday and closing records.
—CNBC’s Anniek Bao, Fred Imbert, Sean Conlon, Lisa Kailai Han and Garrett Downs contributed to this report.
