Stock markets in Europe and Asia are declining again on Tuesday as oil and gas prices continue to rise amid the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. International markets are showing a difficult start to the third month of the year following the attack by the United States and Israel on Iran and the escalation of the conflict in the region. In Seoul, the KOSPI index fell 7.24% after being closed on Monday for a holiday. Against this backdrop, oil and gas prices continue their upward trend. Oil prices surged by 6% on Tuesday after Iran confirmed the blockage of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the global crude supply passes. In this way, the price of Brent crude, the benchmark for Europe, rose by around 6%, reaching the $82 area, while the US-referenced West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 5.32% to $75. As for gas, its price is accelerating its rise in European markets, rising 30% on Tuesday after increasing by 40% on Monday, due to Qatar keeping its liquefied gas plant closed, which generates 20% of the global maritime supply. In response to this surge, TTF gas contracts traded in the Netherlands, the benchmark for Europe, exceeded 57 euros per MWh during the day, which is a value close to double that of a month ago. In Europe, stock markets opened again in the red with Paris down 2.15%, Frankfurt 2.78%, Milan 3.21%, London 2.02%, and Madrid 3.56%. In this context, the Euro Stoxx 50 index plummeted by 4% and in Spain, the Ibex 35 fell by 5%, registering its biggest drop in 11 months, falling more than 1,000 points in the first two sessions after the outbreak of the conflict. On the Asian continent, negative records continued on the main markets. Tokyo ended the session with a fall of 3.06% and Hong Kong with 1.23%.
