Asian markets are trading mostly lower on Thursday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran continue unabated, leading to a fresh surge in crude oil price that reinforced global inflationary concerns. Reports of Iran seeking to mine the Strait of Hormuz have also added to concerns about shipping through the vital waterway. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday.
Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped to two per day from an earlier average of 138 vessels per day. Nearly 150 tankers are anchoring in open gulf waters while nearly 147 container ships are trapped inside the Persian Gulf, struggling to find a way out. Around 20% of the world's oil and energy transit takes place through the Strait of Hormuz.
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Market Analysis
June 19, 2026 16:46 ET Major central banks continued to dominate the economic news flow this week too, led by the Federal Reserve, as they announced their latest policy decisions. The Federal Reserve policy session was in focus as it was the first to be led by the new chief Kevin Warsh. In Europe, central banks of the U.K. and Switzerland announced their rate decisions. In Asia, the Bank of Japan drew attention for its policy moves, while data out of China threw some light on the state of the economy.