Foreign outflows hit Asian stocks as Iran war drives oil shock fears

Asian stocks have seen heavy foreign outflows so far in March as disruptions to Middle East energy supply from the US-Israeli war with Iran stoked fears of an oil shock and stagflation risks, reports Reuters.
Foreign investors have sold a net $50.45 billion worth of regional equities so far this month, on track for the largest monthly outflows since at least 2008, LSEG data covering exchanges in South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines showed.
"Outflows from EM Asia markets were driven by the broad-based risk-off sentiment due to the Middle East conflicts, as most of EM Asia economies are net importers of energy products," said Jason Lui, the head of APAC equity and derivative strategy at BNP Paribas.
Benchmark Brent crude oil prices surged as much as 65 per cent this month to $119.5 a barrel.
Abdelaziz Albogdady, a market research and fintech strategy manager at brokerage FXEM, said that the outflows were exacerbated by the ensuing rise in global yields and a reassessment of rate expectations, in addition to the potential economic impact on net oil importers.