Oil is getting more expensive, shares are falling in price – we are monitoring the market reactions

Iran’s the war market turmoil worsened again on Monday. The price of Brent crude oil rose sharply after US Pres Donald Trump gave Iran a 48-hour deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz.

In this article, we will follow the market reactions to the war on Monday.

The Helsinki Stock Exchange is down by more than 2.5 percent

The Helsinki Stock Exchange opened in the red on Monday. The stock exchange’s general index was down more than 2.5 percent after 45 minutes of trading.

Based on early signs, the series of down days during the Iran war is therefore about to continue on Monday as well. So far, however, the reaction does not seem to be particularly sharp, since at its peak the general index of the stock exchange has fallen by 2.7 percent per day since the start of the war.

The biggest losers on the Helsinki Stock Exchange at 10:45 a.m.:

• Citycon -4.9%

• Metsä Board (series b share): -4.8%

• YIT: -3.8%

• Outokumpu: -3.4%

• Nokia: -3,1%

This is how other European stock exchanges reacted at 10:45 a.m.:

• Stockholm (OMXSPI): -2.2%

• Copenhagen (OMXCPI): -2.1%

• Frankfurt (Dax): -1,8%

• Lontoo (UK FTSE All Share): -1,7%

• Europe more broadly (Stoxx Europe 600): -1.8%

The price of oil rises

The price of Brent crude oil rose to more than 113 dollars per barrel. It is the third biggest spike in oil prices since the start of the Iran war.

On March 9, crude oil was at its highest for a while, almost 120 dollars.

Over the weekend, Trump threatened to destroy Iran’s power plants if the country does not fully open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. The deadline expires on the night between Monday and Tuesday Finnish time. Iran responded by threatening to close the strait completely and destroy the region’s infrastructure.

A fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes through the Strait of Hormuz, but the strait is now practically closed.

Shares fell ugly in some places in Asia

In Asia, the trading day has gone downhill. South Korea’s Kospi index closed down almost 6.5 percent and Tokyo’s Nikkei index closed down 3.5 percent.

The Hang Seng index of the Hong Kong stock exchange, on the other hand, closed down more than 3.5 percent.

The bills in question are large, but not exceptional. For example, the Nikkei has made more than 3 percent daily movements in its direction 8 times during the beginning of the year. During the Iran war, the Nikkei has fallen more than 3 percent five times a day.

Meanwhile, the South Korean Foreign Exchange Market fell to its lowest level against the US dollar since 2009 on Monday morning, when the won weakened to 1,510 won per dollar.