Oil prices soar, stock markets fall amid regional conflict

Crude oil prices have risen sharply, while stocks are down, as investors weigh the fallout of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Brent crude rose as much as 13 percent in Asia on Monday morning before stabilising later in day, with the international benchmark up around 5 percent, at $76.48 per barrel, as of midday Tokyo time.

Asian stock markets opened lower, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 down about 2 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
In the US, stock futures, which are traded outside of regular market hours, racked up significant losses, signaling a choppy day ahead on Wall Street.

Futures tracking the benchmark S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite were both down about 0.7 percent.