Asian equities rally on lower oil prices and hopes for Strait of Hormuz stability

Multiple theaters are experiencing significant escalation. Iran has intensified kinetic operations against Kurdish opposition in Iraq, engaged in direct exchanges with the US, and is alleged to have launched drone/missile strikes against Kuwait and Bahrain, while the US has issued an ultimatum regarding the Strait of Hormuz. Concurrently, a Liberian-flagged LPG tanker was struck in Romanian territorial waters, attributed by Romania and Ukraine to Russia, and China and the Philippines engaged in physical altercations in the South China Sea.