Middle East Tensions Push Oil Past $84 Per Barrel, Asian Markets React

Asian markets experienced mixed results on Monday as tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices past $84 per barrel. The Nikkei 225 index surged 2% to close at 66,890.02, driven by gains in technology and heavy machinery stocks. Tokyo Electron rose 3.5%, while Advantest climbed 4.9%. In contrast, South Korea's Kospi index fell 0.8%, dragged down by profit-taking among semiconductor players.

Samsung Electronics lost 0.9% of its value, while SK Hynix shed 1.3%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.6%, but the Shanghai Composite remained largely unchanged at 3,941.48 due to domestic economic concerns.

Market analysts in Bangkok noted that foreign investors were selling Asian Big Tech stocks to rebalance their portfolios into defense contractors and energy firms, citing escalating global military tensions.

The Middle East crisis led to a 0.6% increase in Brent crude prices to $84.04 per barrel, with the US benchmark also rising by 0.5% to $78.58 per barrel.