Global markets opened Thursday under pressure as rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East sent oil prices surging above $100 a barrel and triggered a sell-off across Asian equities.
The spike in energy costs has revived fears of inflation and tighter monetary policy, while fresh trade developments and movements in digital assets added further uncertainty for investors.
At the same time, the United States launched a new investigation into several major trading partners that could lead to additional tariffs, Bitcoin struggled to maintain a recent rebound amid the oil rally, and Nissan unveiled plans to collaborate with Uber and Wayve to test robotaxis in Japan.
Asian markets fall as oil surges above $100
Asian stocks declined broadly after oil prices jumped sharply following attacks on ships in Gulf waters and disruptions to regional oil exports.
Brent crude rose about 8.72% to $100 per barrel, while US crude futures climbed to $94.05 a barrel.
The surge followed reports that two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters were struck by explosive-laden Iranian boats, while Iraqi officials said the country’s oil ports had halted operations.
Bloomberg also reported that Oman evacuated vessels from its key oil export terminal at Mina Al Fahal as a precaution.
The rise in oil prices overshadowed the International Energy Agency’s announcement that it would release 400 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves — the largest such release in its history.
The United States said it would contribute 172 million barrels starting next week.
Equity markets reacted negatively to the renewed energy shock.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.54%, while Japan’s Nikkei dropped 1.59%.
Chinese blue-chip stocks declined 0.65%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 1.2%. India’s Nifty 50 fell 0.47%.
Futures pointed to further weakness globally, with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures each down 1%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures lost 1%, and DAX futures fell 1.1%.
Bond markets also reflected growing inflation concerns.
Yields on 10-year US Treasury notes rose to 4.2472%, while traders reduced expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.
US opens trade probe that could trigger new tariffs
Separately, the United States initiated a new investigation into several major trading partners following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down part of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the Section 301 investigation could lead to new tariffs on goods imported from countries including China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea and Mexico.
The probe will examine whether those countries engaged in unfair trade practices.
“The United States will no longer sacrifice its industrial base to other countries that may be exporting their problems with excess capacity and production to us,” Greer said.
Other nations under review include Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Switzerland and Norway.
Canada, the second-largest US trading partner, was not listed among the targets.
The investigation comes weeks after the Supreme Court ruled that tariffs imposed by the Trump administration in April last year were unlawful.
Following the ruling, Trump announced a new global tariff policy initially set at 10% and later proposed to rise to 15%.
The new probe may provide the administration with another legal path to impose tariffs on key trading partners.
Bitcoin falls as energy shock rattles markets
Cryptocurrency markets also weakened as the renewed surge in oil prices dented risk appetite.
Bitcoin fell to $69,524, almost changed over the past 24 hours and down 4% for the week after briefly rising above $71,000 the previous day.
The move erased optimism triggered by the IEA’s announcement of the record oil reserve release.
The broader crypto market followed Bitcoin lower. Ether dropped to $2,026, while Solana fell to $84.98 and XRP declined to $1.36.
The recent pattern has been consistent: rallies in Bitcoin are quickly reversed by geopolitical developments.
Nissan partners with Uber and Wayve on robotaxis
Meanwhile, in the automotive sector, Nissan Motor, Uber Technologies and British autonomous driving startup Wayve announced plans to collaborate on developing robotaxis.
The companies aim to launch a pilot program in Tokyo by late 2026 using Nissan Leaf electric vehicles equipped with Wayve’s self-driving technology.
The vehicles will initially operate through Uber’s platform and include a trained safety driver.
“We have been testing our technology throughout Japan since early 2025,” Wayve CEO Alex Kendall said.
“Partnering with Uber and Nissan to begin pilot deployment of Robotaxis allows us to introduce this technology in a responsible way.”
Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa said the companies were also discussing the possibility of expanding the partnership to markets outside Japan.
Wayve, which is backed by SoftBank and Nvidia, partnered with Uber in 2024 and plans to deploy autonomous ride-hailing services in more than 10 cities worldwide, including London later this year.
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