{"id":48092,"date":"2026-03-13T11:36:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T11:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/13\/morning-brief-asian-stocks-fall-bitcoin-jumps-after-us-oil-waiver\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T11:36:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T11:36:14","slug":"morning-brief-asian-stocks-fall-bitcoin-jumps-after-us-oil-waiver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/13\/morning-brief-asian-stocks-fall-bitcoin-jumps-after-us-oil-waiver\/","title":{"rendered":"Morning Brief: Asian stocks fall; Bitcoin jumps after US oil waiver"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Global markets opened Friday under pressure as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continued to shape investor sentiment. <\/p>\n

Asian equities slid for a second straight week while oil hovered near the key $100 per barrel level amid fears of prolonged supply disruptions. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a temporary US waiver allowing purchases of Russian oil already stranded at sea helped ease crude prices slightly and triggered moves across several markets, including a rally in Bitcoin. <\/p>\n

At the same time, China\u2019s technology giants are escalating competition in the fast-growing agentic AI space with new consumer apps designed to expand adoption.<\/p>\n

Asian markets slump as oil shock fuels inflation fears<\/h2>\n

Asian stocks fell on Friday and were poised for a second consecutive weekly decline as hopes of a resolution to the US-Israel war with Iran faded, keeping oil prices elevated and raising concerns about global inflation.<\/p>\n

MSCI\u2019s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares slipped 1% and was on course for a 1.6% loss for the week. <\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s Nikkei dropped 1.29%, while South Korea\u2019s Kospi declined 1.91%. <\/p>\n

Taiwan equities also fell about 0.54%. India’s Nifty was also down by 1.06%.<\/p>\n

Investors remain focused on the potential for prolonged disruptions to oil supply after Iran stepped up attacks across the Middle East. <\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane closed, raising fears of further energy price spikes.<\/p>\n

Oil prices remained near the closely watched $100 per barrel level. <\/p>\n

Brent crude was last trading around $99.93 per barrel while West Texas Intermediate hovered near $94.85.<\/p>\n

The rising energy costs have also shifted expectations around global monetary policy. <\/p>\n

Markets have rapidly repriced expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.<\/p>\n

Bond markets have also reacted. <\/p>\n

The two-year US Treasury yield reached a six-month high earlier in the week and has risen 35 basis points since the war began.<\/p>\n

US temporarily allows purchases of Russian oil at sea<\/h2>\n

In a move aimed at easing pressure on global energy markets, the United States has temporarily authorized countries to buy Russian oil cargoes<\/a> that are already stranded at sea.<\/p>\n

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the measure is intended to stabilize prices following disruptions caused by the conflict in the Middle East and tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

According to Bessent, the Treasury is providing “a temporary authorization to permit countries to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea.”<\/p>\n

He described the move as a “narrowly tailored, short-term measure” that applies only to oil already in transit and “will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government.”<\/p>\n

The authorization will remain in effect until April 11.<\/p>\n

Ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg indicates that roughly 30 tankers carrying Russian crude and fuel are currently in Asian waters. <\/p>\n

These vessels hold at least 19 million barrels of crude and about 310,000 tons of refined products, mostly naphtha used in plastics production, along with some diesel.<\/p>\n

The announcement helped cool oil markets slightly. After surging nearly 10% earlier, West Texas Intermediate crude fell by about $2 to around $95 per barrel.<\/p>\n

Authorities are also taking other measures to address the energy shock. <\/p>\n

The International Energy Agency said it would release a record 400 million barrels of oil to help ease supply constraints.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, several Asian governments have introduced fuel-saving policies. <\/p>\n

The Philippines announced a four-day workweek for public workers to reduce fuel consumption, while Japan, South Korea, and Thailand introduced caps on petrol prices.<\/p>\n

Bessent also said the US would begin escorting vessels through the Strait of Hormuz “as soon as it is militarily possible.”<\/p>\n

Bitcoin rallies after Bessent comments calm markets<\/h2>\n

Cryptocurrency markets also reacted quickly to the US announcement.<\/p>\n

Bitcoin surged late Thursday after Bessent\u2019s comments on stabilizing oil supply, briefly climbing above $72,000 before holding gains into Friday trading.<\/a><\/p>\n

The cryptocurrency was trading around $71,530 after rising as much as 3%.<\/p>\n

“To increase the global reach of existing supply, the US Treasury is providing a temporary authorization to permit countries to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea,” Bessent wrote in an X post.<\/p>\n

He also suggested that the recent surge in oil prices should be viewed as temporary.<\/p>\n

“The temporary increase in oil prices is a short-term and temporary disruption that will result in a massive benefit to our nation and economy in the long-term.”<\/p>\n

Despite geopolitical tensions, digital assets have shown resilience compared with traditional markets. <\/p>\n

Bitcoin had previously fallen to roughly half of its all-time high above $126,000 reached in October before beginning a gradual recovery.<\/p>\n

Institutional demand has also returned. <\/p>\n

US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds are on track for a third straight week of net inflows, attracting about $529 million so far this week.<\/p>\n

Alibaba launches app amid China\u2019s OpenClaw AI boom<\/h2>\n

In China\u2019s technology sector, competition around agentic artificial intelligence is intensifying.<\/p>\n

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. launched a mobile application called \u201cJVS Claw\u201d designed to help users install and deploy OpenClaw within minutes.<\/p>\n

The app allows iOS and Android users without coding experience to instruct AI agents to perform tasks such as shopping online or booking travel. <\/p>\n

The service is free for 14 days.<\/p>\n

The launch comes shortly after Baidu released its own Android app for OpenClaw, highlighting the growing competition among China\u2019s tech companies.<\/p>\n

Companies including Tencent Holdings and Minimax Group are also offering OpenClaw services as part of a nationwide craze dubbed \u201craising lobsters,\u201d named after the assistant\u2019s animal mascot.<\/p>\n

The surge in interest has fueled a rally in related stocks as investors bet that agentic AI could push artificial intelligence further into mainstream usage.<\/p>\n

Authorities, however, are taking a cautious approach. <\/p>\n

While several municipalities are offering subsidies to encourage OpenClaw development, Beijing has restricted state-run enterprises and government agencies from installing such apps on office computers due to cybersecurity concerns.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The post Morning Brief: Asian stocks fall; Bitcoin jumps after US oil waiver<\/a> appeared first on Invezz<\/a><\/p>\n

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Global markets opened Friday under pressure as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continued to shape investor sentiment. Asian equities slid for a second straight week while oil hovered near the key $100 per barrel level amid fears of prolonged supply disruptions. Meanwhile, a temporary US waiver allowing purchases of Russian oil already stranded at <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48093,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-48092","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-investing"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}