FX.co ★ Asian Stocks Advance Despite US-Iran Escalation

Asian equity markets advanced on Monday even as US–Iran tensions escalated over the weekend amid renewed disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States seized an Iranian‑flagged cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman, while Tehran moved to reassert control over the strait after Washington refused to lift its blockade on Iranian ports. Persistent instability in this critical shipping corridor has unleashed a severe energy supply shock, amplifying inflationary pressures and threatening global growth, with Asia’s oil‑importing economies particularly vulnerable. Nonetheless, equity indices in Australia, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and China all finished higher.