SYDNEY: Share markets slid in Asia on Monday, dragged down by AI stocks, while supply concerns in the Middle East caused oil prices to spike anew, and investors braced for likely interest rate hikes in both the United States and Japan this week.
AI-linked shares took an added hit after the leaders of OpenAI and Anthropic called for a slowdown in development to manage risks and protect humanity.
On the oil front, Brent climbed almost 3% as new strikes on Saudi Arabia and on ships in the Gulf strained nerves, after an attack on a Saudi oil pipeline and an advance by Yemen's Ansar Allah threatened to worsen the wartime disruption to global energy supplies.
A meeting in Oman between Iran and Gulf Arab states, scheduled for Monday to discuss a deal on opening the Strait of Hormuz, was postponed.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
