On Monday (30 March, 9:49 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in the Asia Pacific declined across the board as conflicts in the Middle East entered its fifth week, and hostilities continued to escalate.
The Houthis in Yemen announced on Saturday that they had launched missile attacks targeting Israel, signaling their initial direct intervention in the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.
A statement by Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree on X indicated that the group fired multiple ballistic missiles at specific Israeli military sites, describing the action as support for Iran and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
In the Asia region, minutes from the Bank of Japan’s March policy meeting indicate that central bank officials considered the possibility of further interest rate increases, with higher oil prices stemming from the Middle East conflict adding to ongoing cost pressures.
For the U.S., jobs data is expected to show a rebound in nonfarm payrolls for March, following a sharp drop in the prior month. Market economists anticipate an addition of approximately 60,000 new jobs in March after a decrease of 92,000 in February, with the unemployment rate forecast to remain unchanged at 4.4%.
Japan’s NIKKEI plummeted by 4.57% to 50,936.13. South Korea’s KOSPI lost 4.10% to 5,216.05, and Australia’s ASX 200 dropped by 1.30% to 8,405.50.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC slid by 0.67% to 3,887.51. Shenzhen’s SZI slumped by 1.43% to 13,563.10, and Hong Kong’s HSI decreased by 2.07% to 24,435.96.
The U.S. stock markets edged down on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) declined by 1.73% to 45,166.64. NASDAQ waned by 2.15% to 20,948.35, and S&P 500 tumbled by 1.67% to 6,368.85. VIX jumped by 13.16% to 31.05.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Friday as traders remained doubtful about the likelihood of a ceasefire in the Iran conflict. Brent crude closed $4.56 higher, marking a 4.2% increase to reach $112.57 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ended the session up $5.16, or 5.5%, settling at $99.64 per barrel.
Momentum continued into Monday, following a weekend escalation as the Houthis carried out initial strikes against Israel. This morning, Brent surged $3.53, or 3.14%, to $116.10 per barrel, and the WTI gained $2.74, or 2.75%, to $102.38 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures dipped by 0.66% to $4,462.90 per Troy ounce.
