Key Takeaways
- European stocks rebounded Wednesday and US futures pointed to a higher open as investors braced for fresh developments from the Middle East.
- Asian stocks extended declines in Wednesday’s session, with South Korean stocks marking their worst day since 2008.
- Oil prices eased recent sharp gains, after the Trump administration said it would provide assistance to resume energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, without providing specific details.
European stocks bounced on Wednesday, paring the week’s declines to 3.6% and remaining on track for their worst one-week performance since last April’s tariff scare.
“The market action yesterday afternoon and this morning shows a dialing down of market anxiety, but participants will continue to be highly reactive to news flow. Markets seem to have found a level that they are happy to sit at in a wait-and-see mode for now,” James Klempster, deputy head of Liontrust’s multi-asset team, says.
Asian markets extended a global selloff Wednesday, with South Korean stocks plunging as risk-off sentiment continued to weigh on trading amid the escalating Iran war, even as crude oil and natural gas prices remained broadly at Tuesday’s elevated levels.
The Morningstar Korea Index shed more than 12% to record its worst day since 2008 in dollar terms, with the Korea Exchange at one stage halting trading to stem selling, particularly in tech heavyweights like Samsung Electronics 005930, SK Hynix 000660 and LG 066570. Its losses for the week to date are nearly 21%. The broader Morningstar Asia Index fell 3% as other regional markets shifted lower, chiefly in Japan and Hong Kong, as investors assessed the impact of rising oil prices on major oil-importing economies.
Energy Prices Tick Higher
Energy prices ticked higher on Wednesday, though more moderately, after President Donald Trump said the US would provide assistance to tankers in the Strait of Hormuz as the escalating conflict and punitive insurance costs have effectively halted shipments through the critical maritime gateway.
Brent crude oil was last seen up 2.5% at USD 83 while WTI crude rose similarly to USD 76.
Spanish Stocks Unfazed After Drastic Trade Threat from Trump
Spanish equities traded in line with broader European peers after President Trump threatened to cut off all trade with the country after Spain refused to allow US forces to use its bases for strikes on Iran.
The Morningstar Spain Index was up 1.4% by midday, with infrastructure group Acciona ANA and IT firm Indra IDR among top performers.
US futures, meanwhile, pointed to a broadly neutral open after a volatile session Tuesday, which saw the S&P 500 erase all of its 2026 gains. Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes were each up by about 0.2% ahead of the regular market open.
In premarket trading, Nvidia NVDA and Tesla TSLA were both up by 1.1%, while business intelligence firm Strategy Inc MSTR was among top performers, up 7.4%
Korea’s Selloff Follows a Breakneck Rally
Korea’s Kospi had risen sharply over the past year, rallying 75% in 2025 to become the year’s top performing regional benchmark, as investors piled into semiconductor giants amid the AI buildout.
However, analysts note that the index’s heavy concentration of tech names – and their reliance on energy – had made it a major casualty of shifting investor appetite.
“We believe that the drop in share prices is partly driven by profit taking after a strong runup amidst a risk-off environment but also implies growing concern that the AI datacenter adoption pace might slow due to its significantly higher energy costs than regular data centers,” says Lorraine Tan, Asia director of equity research at Morningstar.
