Asia stocks mixed with Iran war in focus; S.Korea leads March losses in Stock News 31/03/2026 Asian stocks were a mixed bag on Tuesday as markets parsed more signals on the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, with regional markets nursing deep declines in March on headwinds from the conflict. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s KOSPI were the worst Asian performers in March, with the two also hit by a rout in heavyweight technology stocks. Regional markets tracked overnight weakness in Wall Street as persistent concerns over the impact of the Iran war kept investors broadly risk-averse. But S&P 500 Futures surged over 1% by 23:11 ET (03:11 GMT) following a report that U.S. President Donald Trump was considering ending the Iran war without an operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Asian markets took limited cheer from this report, given that a prolonged closure in Hormuz stands to continue disrupting oil and gas supplies in the region. South Korea’s KOSPI underperforms in March amid chip losses South Korea’s KOSPI slid 2.2% on Tuesday and was by far the worst performing Asian market in March, with a decline of about 17%. The KOSPI joined a broader rout in Asian markets amid heightened concerns over energy supply disruptions caused by the Iran war. But losses in the KOSPI were exacerbated by sharp selling in local chipmaking stocks, especially Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) and SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660). The two were battered by growing questions over long-term chip demand from the artificial intelligence industry. Broader sectors in the KOSPI were also slapped with a heavy dose of profit-taking after a strong run-up in the first two months of 2026. Despite heavy losses in March, the KOSPI was still trading up nearly 21% so far in 2026. Chinese stocks fall past positive PMI China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes fell 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also fell 0.4%. Losses in the two came despite positive purchasing managers index data for March, with manufacturing activity growing more than expected, while non-manufacturing activity unexpectedly grew. The PMI data pointed to some improvement in business activity in Asia’s largest economy, amid strong export demand and continued support from Beijing. Chinese markets were set to lose between 6% and 7% for March, even with the country seen relatively well-positioned to handle energy supply shocks from the Iran conflict. Asia stocks head for March losses on Iran jitters Broader Asian markets were set for steep losses in March, as investors fretted over the impact of the Iran war. Several Asian economies are seen especially sensitive to disruptions in oil and gas supplies in the Strait of Hormuz. After South Korea, Japanese markets were the worst Asian performers in March, with the Nikkei 225 set to lose over 9%. The broader TOPIX index was down nearly 10% this month. Japanese markets were also spooked by persistent concerns over more interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan. India’s Nifty 50 was also nursing an over 9% decline in March, with the country seen particularly sensitive to disruptions in oil imports. Australia’s ASX 200 was trading down 7% this month, following an interest rate hike from the Reserve Bank of Australia. Singapore’s Straits Times index was among the better performers in March, and was nursing only a 1.6% decline. Source: Investing.com 2026-03-31 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(