PANews reported on March 9th that escalating tensions in the Middle East triggered a plunge in international oil prices, causing a "Black Monday" for Asian stock markets, with many countries opening lower and continuing to decline. South Korea's KOSPI index once plummeted by over 8%, triggering a circuit breaker. Japan's Nikkei 225 index once plunged by over 7%, Vietnam's VN 30 index fell by over 6%, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index and Indonesia's KOSPI index both fell by over 4%. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell by over 3%.