Asian Bourses Collapse! Nikkei and Kospi Fall Over 6%

Jakarta — Asian stock markets collapsed sharply during early trading on Monday, 9 March 2026, triggered by a surge in global crude oil prices that breached the USD 100 per barrel threshold for the first time since 2022. Japan and South Korea led the regional selloff.

According to CNBC.com, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index plummeted 6.05% to fall below the 53,000 level for the first time since 6 February. The TOPIX index also declined 5.27% during morning trading.

Several major technology stocks weighed on the index, including SoftBank Group, which collapsed nearly 10%. Chip-related shares such as Advantest and Lasertec each fell more than 10% and 9% respectively.

In South Korea, the KOSPI index fell 6.5%, triggering a temporary suspension of KOSPI 200 futures contracts. Last week, the circuit breaker mechanism was activated when the benchmark index plummeted over 12% in a single day, marking its worst daily decline.

Technology giant Samsung Electronics fell 8.4%, whilst chip manufacturer SK Hynix declined further to 9.2%. This weakness added pressure on the technology sector, which is sensitive to global market turbulence.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index also weakened with a decline of 3.68% at the start of trading. Negative sentiment spread widely across regional markets amid concerns about rising inflation due to surging energy prices.

The surge in crude oil prices followed major Middle Eastern oil producers, including Kuwait, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, cutting production following the closure of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz shipping route. Consequently, Brent Crude Oil futures surged 16.1% to USD 107.61 per barrel, whilst West Texas Intermediate rose approximately 17.7% to USD 107.02.

In response to the oil price increase, United States President Donald Trump stated that the short-term rise in crude prices represented a “very small price to pay” to eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat. In a post on the Truth Social platform, Trump also added that “only fools would think otherwise.”

Meanwhile, Hang Seng Index futures contracts were trading at 25,328, lower than the previous closing level of 25,757.29. Pressure also extended to the United States market, with Dow Jones Industrial Average futures down over 800 points or approximately 1.75%.

S&P 500 futures weakened 1.59%, whilst the Nasdaq-100 fell around 1.6%. These declines reflect global investor concerns regarding the impact of surging energy prices on inflation and worldwide economic growth.