Israel says it struck targets in Hizbollah-dominated areas of Lebanon

A customer looks at products at the Korea Gold Exchange in Seoul. Spot gold prices, which had rallied as investors sought haven assets, dropped 0.4% on Monday © SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

Stocks, oil and gold declined in Asian trading on Monday as investors continued to assess the likelihood of a sustained period of elevated interest rates and tensions in the Middle East.

Asian equities were on track for their fourth consecutive day of declines, with China’s CSI 300 falling 0.6 per cent after earlier touching its lowest in more than four years.

Japan’s Topix, meanwhile, declined 0.4 per cent.

Oil prices edged lower, with international benchmark Brent dropping 1.1 per cent to trade at $91.11. Brent had gained in recent sessions, driven by concern that conflict between Israel and Hamas could spiral into a broader regional conflagration.

Spot gold prices, which had rallied as investors sought haven assets, dropped 0.4 per cent to $1,973.42 per troy ounce.