Asia Stocks Plunge as Oil Prices Soar Amid Fresh US-Iran Tensions

Oil prices surged on Wednesday, rising around 10 percent since the US hit an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, sparking a series of tit-for-tat attacks. Brent North Sea Crude was trading at $95.43 per barrel.

The conflict has effectively closed the strait, through which about a fifth of world oil and gas passes, leading to increased energy costs and growing inflation fears.

Investors are ramping up rate hike bets, with the yield on 30-year UK government bonds at its highest since 1998 and those for 10-year debt at levels last seen during the global financial crisis of 2007-08. Japan's 10-year bond yield is at a 30-year high.

Markets across Asia were down, with tech firms battering Tokyo by 2.9 percent and Seoul by four percent. Investors are gearing up for key data on jobs and inflation over the next week that could determine whether the Federal Reserve hikes rates at its next meeting in two weeks.