Kospi hits record as Asian markets react to oil spike, rising Iran tensions

Asian markets opened the week on a defensive note on Monday, with investors tracking a sharp rebound in oil prices and the latest escalation in US-Iran tensions.

President Donald Trump’s rejection of Tehran’s latest peace proposal kept geopolitics front and center, while worries over the Strait of Hormuz reinforced the market’s caution.

In the early session, West Texas Intermediate June futures were up 3.94% at $99.18 a barrel and Brent July futures rose 3.49% to $104.83,

The move underscored how quickly energy prices have become the day’s dominant market driver.

Oil shock sets the tone

The oil move gave the Asian open a distinctly risk-off feel.

Traders were not only reacting to the price action itself, but also to what it signaled for inflation, shipping routes and corporate margins if the Middle East confrontation drags on.

The deadlock in US-Iran peace talks has effectively put the Strait of Hormuz back at the center of market thinking.

The energy story also mattered beyond commodities, because higher crude tends to filter into transport, chemicals and broader consumer costs, raising the chance that the session’s early gains in some equity pockets would remain fragile.

Seoul steals the spotlight

South Korea was the clear standout, with the benchmark Kospi opening at a fresh record and surging 4.70%, while the Kosdaq slipped 0.30%.

The move highlighted a market led by heavyweight chip names rather than broad speculative appetite.

SK Hynix was the session’s marquee mover, jumping 10.74% and giving Seoul’s rally a powerful semiconductor engine.

The recent Korean surge is linked to the global AI hardware trade, with chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix driving the benchmark to record territory and attracting strong foreign buying.

That backdrop helps explain why Seoul could outperform even as energy prices and geopolitical risk weighed on sentiment elsewhere in Asia.

Mixed scoreboard across the region

The rest of Asia painted a more uneven picture.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was choppy and slightly lower, while the Topix edged up 0.19%, showing that the market was digesting both the global tech rally and the darker oil backdrop.

Nintendo was a notable laggard, falling 5.54% as investors weighed the company’s plan to raise Switch 2 prices against expectations for softer console sales.

The stock fell after the company lifted prices and investors questioned the strength of its game pipeline.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.83%, while China was modestly firmer, with the CSI 300 up 0.58%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, meanwhile, fell 0.48%, completing a session that was less a synchronized Asia-wide move than a patchwork of local reactions to one big external shock.