Asia markets mostly fell on Monday following heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Markets in Japan faltered on the first day after a prolonged holiday, with the Nikkei 225 tumbling 451.76 points, or 1.9%, to 23,204.86.
The Japanese yen changed hands at 108.04 per U.S. dollar, weakening from an earlier level around 107.75.
The Hang Seng index subtracted 225.31 points, or 0.8%, to 28,226.19
Australian markets eked past breakeven, finished near flat, with the heavily weighted financials subi-ndex retracing some of its earlier losses to trade down 0.6% as shares of major banks in the country declined. But, the energy sector rose 1.3%.
The Australian dollar strengthened to $0.6939, up from around $0.6930.
Australia has been grappling with a devastating fire season that’s expected to worsen as the summer months continue. Wildfires have killed at least 18 people so far, destroyed more than 1,000 homes and nine million acres. Nearly half a billion animals in the state of New South Wales are said to have been killed by the blazes in the last few months and the death toll is expected to rise.
One expert predicted that the bushfires could be a ‘big drag’ on Australia’s growth.
Global tensions elevated late last week after Iran’s top military commander was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad, which raised concerns of retaliation from Iranian forces. The Iranian regime said Sunday that it would no longer abide by uranium enrichment limits established in the 2015 nuclear deal, which the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from in 2018.
On Sunday, Trump threatened to slap sanctions on Iraq after its parliament passed a resolution calling for the government to expel foreign troops from the country, following the U.S. airstrike carried out on its soil.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 lost 15.66 points, or 0.4%, to 4,129.30.
In Taiwan, the Taiex stumbled 157.07 points, or 1.3%, to 11,953.36
In Korea, the Kospi index lost 21.39 points, or 1%, to 2,155.07
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index deleted 19.96 points, or 0.6%, to 3,218.86
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 bucked the trend 34.18 points, or 0.3%, to 11,627.32
In Australia, the ASX 200 inched up 2.21 points to 6,735.71
