Asian Shares Plummet as Oil Prices Slide Below $105 Per Barrel

Asian shares declined on Friday, mirroring losses on Wall Street, while oil prices dropped to around $105 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 2.3% after earlier rising above $108.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan plummeted 1.9% to 64,011.34, and shares of SoftBank Group, an investor in OpenAI, dropped nearly 4%. South Korea's Kospi lost 1.8%, with Samsung Electronics sliding 3.5% and memory chipmaker SK Hynix declining 2.2%.

Oil prices fell after tensions between the U.S. and Iran intensified, with oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz remaining 'well below pre-war levels.'