Asia stocks fall for third day, oil steadies as investors watch Iran war

Asian stock markets fell for a third day in a row on Wednesday while oil prices steadied as investors watch developments in the US-Israel war with Iran.

In choppy trade, South Korea's Kospi index was 3.7% lower in early trading after slumping by more than 7% on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 was about 2.3% lower, while the ASX 200 in Australia was down by 1.5%.

Brent crude and US-traded oil prices were both up by around 0.5% in morning trade in Asia after surging for the last two days.

The conflict in the Middle East has rattled financial markets and global energy prices have soared this week after vessels near the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping lane have come under attack.

Around a fifth of the world's oil and gas usually flows through the narrow waterway between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but traffic has almost entirely halted following Iran's threats to "set fire" to ships.

He said Washington will provide risk insurance "at a very reasonable price" to all shipping firms in the region to "ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD".