<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>About $130 billion has been wiped from the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/australia" rel="" target="_blank" title="Australian"><span>Australian</span></a><span> sharemarket today as surging oil prices and fears of a long war in Iran shocked traders around the world.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The ASX200 index fell 2.9 per cent when it opened at 10am, and has continued to plummet throughout the day, dropping by 3.93 per cent, or 347.70 points, to 8503.30 as of 1.30pm AEDT.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The massive plunge comes on the back of rising oil prices, which have gone up 20 per cent, rocketing to $US110 per barrel.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-attack-iran-live-updates-march-9-donald-trump-latest-world-news-headline/c2734fe0-11d0-4249-8470-a211aa4191e1" rel="" target="_blank" title="US-Iran conflict continues to impact the world"><strong><span>US-Iran conflict continues to impact the world</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This is due to the continuing </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/middle-east" rel="" target="_blank" title="Middle East"><span>Middle East</span></a><span> conflict </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-attacks-iran-strait-of-hormuz-explained-oil-gas-prices/f8e7c1ed-f6d9-4fe5-8277-6a11c09d8de6" rel="" target="" title="all but shutting off the Strait of Hormuz"><span>all but shutting off the Strait of Hormuz</span></a><span>, a key shipping route where about a fifth of the world's oil passes through.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At one stage today, the ASX had sunk by as much as 4.3 per cent, which would have put it on track for the steepest single-day drop since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and worse than when US President Donald Trump rolled out his tariffs in April last year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, some of those losses have since been pared back </span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/finance/australia-asx-fall-us-iran-conflict-oil/683dd1fc-6f60-4295-819a-4e1e87ecaab3" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The fall means the local sharemarket has fallen around seven per cent in the last seven days.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>9News finance editor Chris Kohler said the positive conditions before the US and Israel launched their attacks on Iran have made the fall far more stark.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The ASX200 was at a record high, and the price of oil had been trending lower for well over two years," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>JUST IN:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/petrol-spy-top-downloaded-app-amid-fuel-shortage/f3261e5f-4788-4bef-afa2-0c7db1941631" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Fears of fuel shortage drive apps, bargain hunters as farmers warn of running out</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said how far the markets had to fall would depend on "how much pain" both sides of the conflict were willing to endure.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The concern that we're seeing here on the market is that we see a full-blown energy shock, the likes we haven't seen globally in a handful of decades," he said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Prices are now having to adjust in that instance. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We'd see inflation rise, household costs rise, we'd see growth nationally and internationally slow."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Other markets around the world had a bigger shock than Australia, with Japan's Nikkei plunging by seven per cent in early trade.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></strong></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><em><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></em></a><span> </span><em><strong><span>and</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></em></a></li><li><em><strong><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" rel="" 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