Oil prices surge as Iran conflict flares, while global stocks skid on
selling of tech shares
[June 08, 2026] By
YURI KAGEYAMA
TOKYO (AP) — Global shares sank on Monday after Wall Street ended last
week with its worst day since October, while oil prices jumped more than
$4 as fighting flared between Israel and Iran.
South Korea’s Kospi led the global retreat, plunging 8.3% on heavy
selling of technology shares and extending losses that on Friday gave
the S&P 500 its biggest single day drop in months.
The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.2%, while that for the Dow Jones
Industrial Average lost 0.3%.
Oil prices surged as Israel launched airstrikes early Monday, targeting
central and western Iran in response to missile fire. Iranian state
television reported the sound of explosions being heard in Isfahan,
Tabriz and Tehran, without immediately elaborating.
American and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative deal last week to
extend their ceasefire, but the agreement has not been finalized and the
latest attacks further strain efforts to end the conflict. The U.S. war
with Iran has essentially blocked crude oil shipments from moving
through the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude, the international standard, jumped $4.60 to $97.69 a
barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude surged $4.13 to $94.67 a barrel.
In early European share trading, France's CAC 40 fell 0.7% to 8,161.42,
while the German DAX dipped 0.8% to 24,552.77. Britain's FTSE 100 shed
0.4% to 10,331.24.
During Asia's day, the Kospi in Seoul slipped 8.3% to 7,484.41 as
Samsung Electronics, the country’s biggest company, dropped 10.2%. SK
Hynix declined 7.7%.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 3.9% to finish at 64,024.60. The
Japanese government revised the annualized economic growth rate to 1.8%
for the first quarter this year, down from an earlier estimate of 2.1%.
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A screen shows the stock prices of South Korean chipmakers at the
foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in
Seoul, South Korea, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
 Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan's Taiex
lost 3.5% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1.3% to 24,642.33. The
Shanghai Composite shed 1.7% to 3,959.34.
Markets were closed in Australia for the King’s Birthday, a holiday.
Friday marked the biggest one-day drop for Wall Street since Oct.
10, when the Trump administration threatened to impose a 100% tariff
on imported goods from China.
The S&P 500 sank 2.6% after a strong jobs report boosted
expectations about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates this
year, further darkening sentiment already dimmed by worries over a
possible end to the rally in tech shares driven by the boom in
investment in artificial intelligence.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4%, while the Nasdaq
composite slumped 4.2%.
In currency trading early Monday, the U.S. dollar inched down to
160.23 Japanese yen from 160.25 yen. The euro cost $1.1521, up from
$1.1515.
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