Yesterday, the ASX 200 fell into negative territory as the Middle East war escalated, oil prices rose, and US Treasury rates reached 5.001%, taking the Hang Seng and Nikkei with it. Despite favorable signals from Fed Chair Powell and US economic indices, demand for risky assets remained muted.

President Biden's expected request for Congressional cash to assist Ukraine and Israel heightened market concerns. These trends may result in central bank rate rises to counteract the inflationary risks posed by rising oil prices, supporting a higher for longer Fed rate path.

The Nasdaq Composite Index, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average all fell. The slump affected key Asian equities such as Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Group Holding Ltd (HK:9988), HSBC Holdings (NYSE:HSBC) PLC (HK:0005), and SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984).

Despite the fact that Hong Kong markets were closed on Sunday for Chung Yeung Day, losses in the US equities market set the tone for Monday's session in the absence of Asian economic indicators. The ASX 200 and Nikkei 225 futures markets also fell.

On Monday, major Australian banks such as NAB and ANZ Group fell, as did mining equities such as BHP Group Ltd (NYSE:BHP) and Fortescue Metals Group (OTC:FSUGY) (FMG). Despite the slump, oil stocks showed a mixed picture, with Santos Ltd (STO) rising.

China Construction Bank (OTC:CICHF) (HK:0939) closed flat on Friday, while Tokyo Electron Limited (8035) suffered minor losses.