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Asia stocks sink on Syria concerns, oil surges

The growing likelihood of Western military action against Syria pummeled Asian stock markets Wednesday and sent the price of oil soaring.

Fears that the U.S., Britain and other countries are gearing up to confront Syria over its alleged use of chemical weapons against civilians rose after Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the U.S. military stands ready to strike against Syria if President Barack Obama gives the order.

“Investors are sort of battening down the hatches a bit. I get the sense that this looks like a situation that is likely to be with us for a while,” said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney.

“One reason the market has started to fall is that people are thinking this may not be a one-off blip that will only last a week. The stakes have been raised by the use of chemical weapons,” he said.

Gold prices and U.S. government bond prices advanced because traders see those investments holding their value better in times of uncertainty. The Japanese yen, considered a safe haven, also rose.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index sank 2 percent to 13,267.24, with export-linked shares falling sharply. Suzuki Motor Corp. tumbled 5.4 percent. Sony Corp. dropped 4 percent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.7 percent to 21,498.88. South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.4 percent to 1,877.84. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 tumbled 1.1 percent to 5,084.90. Benchmarks in the Philippines, Indonesia and mainland China also fell.

U.S. stocks were hit by a broad sell-off Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 1.1 percent to close at 14,776.13. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index declined 1.6 percent to close at 1,630.48. The Nasdaq composite was down 2.2 percent, to 3,578.52.

The tensions with Syria overshadowed two positive reports on the economy. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to 81.5 in August, up from 80.3 the month before and beating expectations.

Syria is not a major oil producer, but traders are worried that a showdown with the regime of President Bashar Assad could escalate into a regional conflict that might disrupt the flow of oil from the Middle East.

Benchmark oil for October delivery shot up $2.90 to $111.94 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract jumped $3.09 Tuesday to $109.01 a barrel on the Nymex. That’s the highest closing price since February 2012, although oil remains far below its record close of $145.29 a barrel, reached on July 3, 2008.

In currencies, the euro fell to $1.3375 from $1.3388 late Tuesday. The dollar rose slightly to 97.12 yen from 97.07 yen.