STOCKS | Asian Stocks Swing; Oil Hits One-Month High After Trump Hormuz Fee Threat

Asian markets swung between gains and losses and oil rose to a one-month high in early trading on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was reinstating the blockade of Iranian shipping in the Gulf and would collect a 20% fee on cargo traversing the Strait of Hormuz, according to RTHK. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened down 32 points, or 0.13%, at 24,181. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell 11 points, or 0.25%, to 4,664, while the China Enterprises Index was down under a point, or 0.01%, at 8,065. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite opened down four points, or 0.12%, at 3,909. The Shenzhen Component rose nine points, or 0.07%, to 14,532, and the ChiNext gained six points, or 0.16%, to 3,729. Japan’s Nikkei opened down 239 points, or 0.36%, at 67,002, briefly moved into positive territory, then fell as much as 612 points, or 0.91%, to 66,630 before noon. South Korea’s Kospi opened down 37 points, or 0.56%, at 6,769, hit a morning high near 7,000, then dropped as much as 115 points, or 1.69%, to 6,691 before midday. Markets were also pressured by hawkish comments on Monday from U.S. Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller, who said the central bank may need to raise interest rates “in the near term” if coming data show inflation continuing well above the 2% target. Pepperstone Group’s Chris Weston said markets reacted aggressively to the latest Iran conflict headlines and warned that tighter monetary policy into a potential energy shock is rarely supportive for risk assets.