Currency dealers monitor exchange rates as an electronic screen (top) shows South Korea’s benchmark stock index (KOSPI) in a foreign exchange dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on March 13, 2026.
Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher Monday, as investors continue to keep a cautious eye on developments in the Middle East amid renewed tensions between Iran and the U.S.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that a U.S Navy guided missile destroyer had fired on and disabled an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman before Marines boarded and seized the vessel.
The seizure is an escalation of the blockade and comes after Iran fired upon commercial vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz earlier Sunday. The strait is between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
Since last week, the U.S. has been operating a naval blockade of ships entering and exiting Iranian ports. Iran views the ongoing blockade as a breach of the ceasefire reached by the U.S. and Iran, and cites this as one of its reasons for calling off the expected negotiations on Monday in Islamabad.
Trump warned on Sunday he would “knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran” if Tehran did not agree to Washington’s terms to end the conflict.
Oil futures pared earlier gains. West Texas Intermediate futures added 6.14% to $89 per barrel as of 9:35 p.m. ET. Brent crude rose 5.51% higher to $95.36 per barrel.
South Korea’s Kospi extended early gains and was higher at 1.19% while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 1.14%. Â SK Hynix was among the best performers on the Kospi Index, rising over 3% following news that it has started mass production of next-gen AI server memory designed for Nvidia‘s Vera Rubin platform.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.88%, while the Topix gained 0.63%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was flat.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 index was marginally lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 0.22% higher.
China held its benchmark lending rates unchanged for an 11th straight month, as escalating Middle East tensions drove energy prices higher and weighed on the growth outlook.
The decision came after the world’s second-largest economy grew 5% in the first quarter, accelerating from 4.5% in the prior quarter, and at the top end of its full-year target range. Beijing lowered its growth target for 2026 to a range of 4.5% to 5%, the least ambitious goal on record since the 1990s.
Overnight on Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures shed 425 points, or 0.9%. S&P 500 futures lost 0.8%, while Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.65%.
During Friday’s regular session, the S&P 500 jumped 1.2% to close at 7,126.06, crossing the 7,100 threshold for the first time. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.52% and settled at 24,468.48 for its 13th consecutive winning day and its longest positive streak since 1992. Both indexes posted fresh intraday and closing records.Â
— CNBC’s Anniek Bao, Fred Imbert, Sean Conlon, Lisa Kailai Han and Garrett Downs contributed to this report.
