Asian Markets Tumble as Oil Prices Hit Five-Month High

Asian shares declined on Friday, mirroring losses on Wall Street, while oil prices rose to their highest level since May. The Brent crude benchmark traded at $108.59 per barrel, a 0.9% increase from Thursday's close. Benchmark U.S. crude also gained, rising 0.7% to $103.22 per barrel.

The declines in Asian markets were widespread, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling 2.8% to 63,442.30 and South Korea's Kospi losing 2.3% to 6,872.39. Shares of SoftBank Group, an investor in OpenAI, fell 4.1%, while memory chipmaker SK Hynix declined 3.6%. The Shanghai Composite index was down 1.8% to 3,862.73.

Oil prices have been driven up by tensions between the U.S. and Iran, with ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey noting that oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz remains 'well below pre-war levels.' This has underscored the fragility of the situation, they said.