Pumpjacks operate at the Inglewood Oil field in Los Angeles, California on March 17, 2026. Asian markets mostly rose on March 18 and oil prices dipped following another tech-led advance on Wall Street, as the United States hit Iranian missile sites near the key Strait of Hormuz and Tehran struck crude-producing Gulf neighbours. While the war in the Middle East shows no sign of ending and oil has stuck around $100 a barrel -- threatening to fuel a fresh inflation spike -- equity traders have shifted back into the market after the steep losses suffered at the outset of the conflict. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)