Trump delivers a nationwide address, claiming that he will launch an “extremely forceful” assault on Iran within 2 to 3 weeks, but he says nothing about reopening the Strait of Hormuz—no concrete plan is offered. The market immediately responds with selling pressure. Nomura Securities warns that Asian currencies versus the U.S. dollar face downside pressure; if volatility accelerates too quickly, central banks in various countries may step up intervention, further pushing up government bond yields.
(Backgrounder: A letter handwritten by Iran’s president to the American people—“We have never initiated war”—is this a bid for peace or psychological warfare?)
(Additional context: After Bitcoin surged past $69,000, it then plunged to $67,000! 116,000 people liquidated $289 million, and market trading volume froze)
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The market’s response says it all. As soon as Trump’s speech landed, the U.S. dollar index jumped to 99.925, and Asian equities slid in tandem—Japan’s Nikkei index fell 1.4%, South Korea’s Kospi sank 2.82%, and the Hang Seng index dropped 0.5%; oil prices rose even more sharply, with Brent crude surging 5% in a single day. The easing signals investors had hoped for didn’t show up—what they got was more threats.
Nomura Securities’ global markets research chief, Rob Subbaraman, points directly to the fact that Trump’s remarks “failed to send clear signals of easing tensions as the market had hoped.” He warns that against the backdrop of continued escalation in the geopolitical situation, Asian currencies versus the U.S. dollar could weaken further. The Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar have already fallen by about 0.6%, confirming this assessment.
Subbaraman further notes that if the rate of currency depreciation is too fast and exceeds the tolerance bands of central banks, the force of intervention is bound to increase. And once central banks step in at large scale to intervene in foreign-exchange markets, the side effects of selling foreign-exchange reserves will push domestic liquidity toward contraction, creating upward pressure on government bond yields as well. For an already pressured Asian fixed-income market, this is a double-edged sword.
The response from Tehran is equally hardline. According to Iran’s official Tasnim news agency, Iranian authorities accuse Trump of the real purpose of this address being “to justify war and eliminate deep public concern in the United States.” However, Iran believes that the overwhelming negative market reaction has already proven that Trump’s plan has failed.
In its statement, Iran also named Trump’s playbook more directly: “The market has completely seen through Trump’s tactics and has responded negatively.” This line is almost using market data as a weapon—countering the White House’s psychological warfare.
The core impasse around the Strait of Hormuz remains unresolved. In his speech, Trump only said that countries should “take care of that corridor themselves,” and he has never delivered a concrete commitment on any plan to reopen the global oil chokepoint.
The baton for diplomatic coordination now lands in the UK’s hands. Reports say the UK plans to host an international diplomatic meeting this week, bringing together relevant parties to discuss pathways for reopening the Strait of Hormuz—this is currently the most meaningful multilateral outreach attempt known so far.
For the crypto market, the escalation of geopolitical tensions is always a double-edged variable: risk-off sentiment drives some capital toward Bitcoin as a hedge, but if a stronger dollar occurs at the same time, overall selling pressure on risk assets typically takes the upper hand. After Nomura’s warning plays out, how Asian investors will redeploy assets amid the triple squeeze of exchange rates, interest rates, and oil prices will be the focus to watch over the coming weeks.