Asian equity markets traded mostly higher on Friday after reports emerged that Iran and Oman are drafting a protocol to “monitor transit” through the Strait of Hormuz, raising cautious hopes that the crucial waterway could partially reopen. Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi stated that tanker traffic through the strait “should be supervised and coordinated”…
Oil prices fluctuated violently on Monday as markets digested President Trump’s weekend ultimatum threatening to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if Tehran fails to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. Brent crude traded above $113 per barrel, reversing initial losses as the deadline approached without any indication that Iran would comply. Iran’s parliament…
South Korea’s KOSPI triggered its circuit breaker on Wednesday after falling as much as 12% in its worst single-day decline since the 2008 financial crisis. The circuit breaker, a regulatory technology mechanism that halts trading when index-level declines exceed defined thresholds, activated at the 8% level for a 20-minute cooling period before trading resumed and…
The U.S.-Israeli military strikes on Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz are producing an immediate energy crisis. They are also producing something less visible but potentially more consequential: a compression of the technology adoption timelines for energy alternatives across Asia. Renewable energy deployment schedules, battery storage installation targets, nuclear reactivation programs,…
