Stocks in Asia were mixed on Monday
The Nikkei 225 plummeted 187.85 points, or 0.8%, 22,090.12, as shares of index heavyweights Fast Retailing, Softbank Group and Fanuc declined.
The Japanese yen traded at 111.90 U.S. after touching an earlier high of 111.84, while the Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7138 U.S. after seeing highs around the $0.720 last week.
Korean markets were flat as chipmaker SK Hynix saw its stock price drop 1.6%
Oil prices surged in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with the international benchmark Brent crude futures contract adding 2.6% to trade at $73.81 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also gained 2.3% to about $65.49 per barrel.
The moves came following a Washington Post report that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will announce the State Department will cease to grant sanctions waivers to countries that import crude or condensate from Iran, from May 2.
In other markets
The CSI 300 in China dropped 95 points, or 2.3%, to 4,025.61
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index regained 10.12 points, or 0.3%, to 3,357.70
Korea’s Kospi Index inched ahead 0.5 points, or 1.4%, to 2,216.65
The Taiex Index in Taiwan recovered 19.21 points, or 0.2%, to 10,987.71
Markets in Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand were closed for Easter Monday
