investingLive Asia-Pacific market moving news: Oil jumps as US-Iran war spreads, Hormuz tankers struck

Financial market news for Asian trading on Monday, July 20, 2026 The United States and Iran edged closer to all-out war over the weekend, and Sunday's session showed exactly why. The escalation began with confirmation of fresh American troop deaths and an unnamed US official's acknowledgment that Washington is planning for a wider war, with the Pentagon said to be increasing the number of military aircraft in the region. Oil futures opened the new trading week up roughly 2% in direct response, a move that had little to do with supply or demand and everything to do with markets pricing in an extended, potentially broader campaign rather than any near-term off-ramp.