Asian equity markets slumped on Wednesday as the escalating conflict in the Middle East triggered broad-based selling across the region. The war intensified after Israel struck targets in Lebanon and Iran stepped up missile and drone attacks on Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, and Bahrain. Mounting fears about the conflict’s impact on energy prices, inflation, and interest rate expectations further unnerved investors.
South Korea’s benchmark index, which had outpaced global peers earlier this year on a wave of AI-driven optimism, sank 12%—its steepest decline since the 2008 global financial crisis. Major indexes in Japan also dropped nearly 4%, while markets in Australia, China, and Hong Kong registered similarly sharp losses. At the same time, safe-haven assets attracted strong inflows as risk appetite deteriorated markedly across global markets.
