An investor looks at a stock quotation board at a brokerage office in Beijing, China on Monday . Benchmarks in Shanghai and Hong Kong declined. Australia and some South-East Asian markets advanced. Japanese markets were closed. - Reuters
News that Gen. Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, was killed in an air attack at the Baghdad international airport prompted expectations of Iranian retaliation against US and Israeli targets. There was no immediate indication how Iran would respond to Soleimani's death but Tehran has seized oil tankers and shot down a U.S. military drone.
Benchmark U.S. crude was up US$1.69 at $62.87 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 12 cents the previous day to close at US$61.18.