Market analyst on possible effect of US-Iran crisis

A financial analyst in Hong Kong said Friday that US-Iran crisis was unlikely to affect global stock markets and that oil prices would rebound.

Paul Pong said killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a US-ordered airstrike was part of a regional war, not a global war, and that it would mostly affect Middle East.

Asian stocks were mixed and oil prices surged after news that he of Iran's elite Quds Force was killed in an air attack at Baghd international airport.

Benchmarks in Shanghai and Hong Kong declined.

Taiwan and Singapore also declined.

Markets in Malaysia and Indonesia, both oil producers, gained.

re was no immediate indication how Iran would respond to Soleimani's death, but Tehran has seized oil tankers and shot down a US military drone.

Washington blames Iran for attacks on tankers and a September assault on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry that temporarily cut its production by half.