Asian markets open lower after US-Israel strikes on Iran; spot gold rises by 1.7%

[SINGAPORE] Asia markets declined at market open on Monday (Mar 2), after the latest US-Israel attacks on Iran over the past weekend.

It comes after a 12-day air war in June 2025 between Israel and Iran and multiple US-Israeli warnings of more strikes if Iran pressed ahead with its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Iran is preparing for a “crushing retaliation”, according to a Reuters report on Saturday, such that reconciliation with the West is not in sight.

Thousands of flights globally have been disrupted due to the most recent strikes, where key transit airports in Dubai and Doha in Qatar were shut or severely restricted, as the region’s airspace stayed closed.

It has impacted 26 Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Scoot flights between Feb 28 and Mar 7, which have now been cancelled. Other SIA flights could be affected, too, amid the fluid situation, said the national carrier in a Facebook post on Sunday.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 2 per cent, while the Topix was down 2.3 per cent in early trade.

South Korean markets are closed due to a public holiday.

Australia’s ASX 200 inched down 0.4 per cent at market open as well.

Dow Futures declined over 500 points, or 1.2 per cent. S&P 500 futures also fell 1 per cent, and Nasdaq 100 futures was down over 1 per cent in overnight trading.

Meanwhile, spot gold prices rose 1.7 per cent to US$5,365.70, while Bitcoin has slumped to US$66,004, amid this period of renewed uncertainty.