Asian shares decline as oil prices soar amid war in Iran, echoing last week’s Wall Street drop

Asian shares mostly dipped in Monday (March 30, 2026) morning trading as worries continued about soaring oil prices and the potential for further escalation in the US war with Iran.

The drops in Asia follow the deep declines on Wall Street last Friday that finished off a fifth straight losing week, its longest such streak in nearly four years.

Worries have been great in Japan and the rest of Asia about the effective lack of access to the Strait of Hormuz because of the war in Iran, as the region relies greatly on such access for oil shipments.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude jumped $2.28 to $101.92 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, soared $2.88 to $115.45 a barrel. Before the war, brent had been price at about $70 to a barrel.

Investors are now bracing for the war to last for some time, which would likely set off inflation in global markets, and eventually may stunt Asia’s economic growth.

“Although we do not expect the conflict to be protracted, we anticipate heightened volatility in the near term,” said Xavier Lee, senior equity analyst at Morningstar Research.

Oil prices are again climbing after momentarily easing when President Donald Trump extended a self-imposed deadline to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants to April 6.

In the bond market, the yield for the 10-year Treasury rose as high as 4.48% before pulling back to end last week at 4.43%. That’s up from 4.42% late Thursday and from just 3.97 per cent before the war began.

In currency trading, the US dollar inched down to 159.97 Japanese yen from 160.32 yen. The euro cost $1.1505, down from $1.1510.