Oil prices surge as Trump rejects Iran peace proposal, rattling global markets. West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 3.67% to $99.09 per barrel while Brent climbed 3.42% to $104.71, driven by escalating U.S.-Iran tensions and fears of Strait of Hormuz disruption. Asian markets opened mixed Monday with South Korea's Kospi hitting fresh records and gaining 4.32%, buoyed by chip stocks like SK Hynix. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.47% as Nintendo shares dropped over 8% following Switch 2 price hike announcements. China's CSI 300 rose 1.64% as inflation data exceeded expectations due to higher commodity costs linked to Middle East conflict. U.S. futures declined slightly with Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 each losing around 0.3% as geopolitical risks offset last week's strong rally momentum across all three major indexes.
