Japan’s Nikkei 225 share index falls more than 6% as oil soars over $100 a barrel

BANGKOK (AP) — Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunged more than 6% early Monday after oil prices soared to over $100 a barrel due to disruptions from the war in the Middle East, casting a shadow over economies heavily dependent on imports of crude and gas from the region.

The Nikkei was down 6.2% at 52,184.41 shortly after trading began. South Korea’s Kospi sank 6.1% to 5,180.19 and shares in Australia and New Zealand fell more than 3%.

The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.9%.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude, was at $109.46 a barrel and U.S. benchmark crude traded at $107.37 a barrel. Both were more than 18% above their closing prices Friday.

Crude prices are at their highest level in more than three and a half years. Supply concerns have driven crude and gasoline higher as the war ensnares major oil-producing countries and hinders exports from the Persian Gulf.

“The market woke up to the sound every macro trader dreads. The oil alarm bell. And this time it was not a polite chime. It was a fire siren,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

The increases followed the U.S. crude price jumping by 36% and Brent crude rising by 28% last week. Oil prices have surged as the war, now in its second week, ensnared countries and places that are critical to the p...