Asian stocks slip and oil prices jump as Iran and US launch fresh attacks
Jul 8, 2026, 9:42 PM | Updated: Jul 9, 2026, 6:36 am
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Credit: AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon
(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
HONG KONG (AP) — Shares slipped in Asia and oil prices jumped Thursday as conflict escalated in the Middle East, with Iran and the U.S. launching fresh attacks.
U.S. futures edged higher.
The United States launched more airstrikes on Iran, and Iran responded by firing at Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said their temporary ceasefire was “over.”
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 reversed some of its losses from earlier in the week, gaining 1.6% to 67,849.98, helped by technology-related shares. Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron jumped 5%, and artificial intelligence-focused investment holding firm SoftBank Group rose 0.4%.
South Korea’s Kospi index zigzagged, rising 0.1% to 7,255.09 despite a loss earlier in the day. It fell 5.4% on Wednesday. Samsung Electronics was down 1.3% on Thursday, while memory chip maker SK Hynix gained 3.6%.
The Shanghai Composite index traded 0.5% lower at 3,952.49, after China’s producer price index rose 4.1% in June compared to a year earlier. That was higher than May’s 3.9%, as some economists attribute the accelerating inflation to rising costs due to the Iran war.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.8% to 24,011.61. Shares of Apple supplier Luxshare fell 5% in its trading debut in Hong Kong. Chinese AI company Zhipu, or Z.ai, surged 11.5% after it said it’s raising about $4 billion through a share sale.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.5% to 8,745.20.
Taiwan’s Taiex was flat and India’s Sensex climbed 0.7%.
Oil prices were trading higher early Thursday, with Brent crude, the international standard, gaining 1.1% to $78.88 per barrel. It briefly topped $80 on Wednesday before trimming some gains. Before the Iran war began, Brent oil was trading at around $72 a barrel. Earlier optimism over an interim peace deal recently brought it back to pre-war levels.
Benchmark U.S. crude was also trading 1.1% higher at $74.32 a barrel.
“The oil market has continued to rally as the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran appears to be on life support,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a commentary.
The pair said that vessel tracking data showed tanker crossings in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil transport, have fallen in recent days. That’s reigniting investor concerns on oil supplies.
On Wednesday, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 ended 0.3% lower at 7,482.71. It dropped as much as 1.1% after Trump’s comment on the ceasefire agreement.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.1% to 52,348.39, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite edged up 0.2% following an earlier loss to 25,870.65.
U.S. chipmaker Broadcom surged 4.8%, after Apple committed to a multiyear partnership with the company.
In other dealings, the U.S. dollar fell to 162.45 Japanese yen from 162.59 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1430, up from $1.1417.
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AP Business Writers Stan Choe and Matt Ott contributed to this report.
