MARKETS: Trump’s speech pushed Asian stock markets lower

In Asia, the stock markets were down again on Thursday.

President of the United States Donald Trump gave a speech on Wednesday evening local time regarding the situation in Iran. Trump said in his speech that the United States intends to strike Iran “very hard” in the next two to three weeks.

He also boasted that the United States is meeting or exceeding all of its military goals.

At the time of the review, Japan’s Nikkei was down 2.3 percent and the broader Topix was down 1.5 percent.

In mainland China, the CSI 300 was down 1 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 1.3 percent.

South Korea’s Kospi index was down 4 percent.

According to estimates by Bloomberg strategists, the market will be unstable in the near term and prone to reversals in the longer term as well. Even the most favorable outcome of the conflict would cause long-lasting and significant damage to global supply chains.

According to estimates, the strong sawing movement of the current week supports the view that the transports passing through the Strait of Hormuz may remain well below the pre-war level for a long time.

On the oil market, the price of oil was rising. At the time of the review, the price of Brent oil was around USD 107 per barrel. The price of West Texas Intermediate oil, on the other hand, was $104 per barrel.

Several Arab countries are exploring ways in the UN to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, if necessary, also by force.

Bahrain, which is currently serving as a rotating member of the UN Security Council, is preparing a resolution aimed at giving the authority to open the strait.

At 8:23 a.m. one euro was worth 1.15 dollars, 183.8 yen, 0.87 pounds and 10.9 Swedish kronor. The dollar was 159.35 yen and the pound was 1.32 dollars.

Based on index futures, a bearish opening is expected for the United States and Europe on Thursday.