Global shares in downtrend as crude oil tops $100/bblmark

Bangkok: The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, topped $100 a barrel early Thursday, just days after it spiked near $120 in the latest jolts to financial markets and the global economy as a whole.

Oil prices shot more than 9% higher as supply concerns worsened with Iranian attacks on commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz. US benchmark crude oil jumped to about $94 a barrel.

But the continued strife and uncertainty have fueled speculation prices could push still higher. Markets in Asia fell back, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 losing 1.8% to 54,043.38. In South Korea, the Kospi lost 1.2% to 5,540.56, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gave up 1.2% to 25,577.71.

The Shanghai Composite index shed 0.6% to 4,106.96 and in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.7% to 8,599.00. US futures were down 1% and the dollar climbed to 159.02 Japanese yen from 158.95 yen. The euro fell to $1.1538 from $1.1566.

On Wednesday, US stocks were little changed as the S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower, to 6,775.80, for a second day of modest moves following a wild stretch caused by the war with Iran.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6% to 47,417.27, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1% to 22,716.13.

Since the start of the war, sharp moves for oil prices have triggered swings up and down for financial markets worldwide, sometimes by the hour.

Oil prices briefly spiked to their highest levels since 2022 this week because of the possibility that production in the Middle East could be blocked for a long time, which in turn raised worries about a surge of debilitating inflation for the global economy.

In a report, Oxford Economics said "the swings in Brent crude oil prices over the past several days are eye-catching and odds are volatility will remain because of the absence of a timeline for when the conflict will de-escalate and when the Strait of Hormuz, which is effectively closed, will see traffic begin to recover."