Asian markets retreat as oil climbs and chipmakers face pressure

Most Asian markets fell on Monday as oil prices rose amid uncertainty over a possible U.S.-Iran truce. Rising bond yields also weighed on risk appetite, while chipmakers faced pressure after OpenAI paused training some advanced AI models.

South Korea’s KOSPI dropped around 2%. China’s CSI 300 fell 2.3% and the Shanghai Composite lost 1.7%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose about 0.6%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 was largely flat and TOPIX edged down 0.1%. India’s Nifty 50 fell more than 1%.

Brent futures rose more than 2% to above $106 a barrel, extending their September gain to more than 18%. Oil climbed after U.S. President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He reportedly said talks would continue this week.

Higher energy costs added to concerns that inflation could remain elevated, prompting central banks to maintain or raise interest rates. U.S. stock index futures also fell during Asian trading, led by losses in Nasdaq futures. Wall Street had closed higher on Friday.