Japanese stocks and bonds and the country¡¯s currency fell Monday on growing concern that an oil shock brought about by the attack on Iran could drive up inflation and slow economic growth.

The Nikkei 225 stock average ended the day down 5.2%, recovering from a 7.6% decline in the morning.

Oil prices spiked dramatically at the opening of trade Monday, with the price of Brent rising 30% to $119.46 a barrel, as the war in the Middle East continued and risks grew that global oil supply could be seriously disrupted.

As trade continued, the price fell back to about $105 a barrel. Bloomberg reported that Saudi Arabia is offering oil on the spot market, while the Financial Times reported that Group of Seven finance ministers are going to discuss releasing oil reserves Monday night.

Bonds and the yen followed the trajectory of Japanese stocks, falling early and then winning back some of the losses.

U.S. and Israeli armed forces attacked Iran just over a week ago in a massive assault. Hostilities have since escalated, and the Iranian government has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed. An estimated 94% of Japan¡¯s oil comes from the Middle East, and most of that transits the strait.

An unexpectedly weak jobs report issued by the United States government Friday also took a toll on the equity markets. The U.S. lost 92,000 jobs in February, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed, adding to concerns that the U.S. economy might face a double whammy in light of the ongoing war in the Middle East.

In trading Monday, the Nikkei 225 fell to 51,407.66, the morning low, at 11:05 a.m., and recovered to end the day at 52,728.72. The benchmark reached a record high of 59,332.43 on Feb. 26 and is now down 11.1% from the peak.

Dropping below 50,000 is now a possibility for the Nikkei 225 given the escalation of hostilities and the economic situation in the United States, Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities, said in a Jiji report on Monday.

The yen weakened to about ?158.71 to the dollar on Monday morning, from just under ?158 on Friday. It settled at ?158.50.

South Korea¡¯s benchmark KOSPI declined 8% on Monday, triggering circuit breakers at the Korea Exchange. Like the Nikkei 225, it recovered later in the day. The Indian rupee hit an all-time low.

The ongoing and escalating nature of the war is likely to increase pressure on Japan to secure its energy supply, said Adam Ward, managing editor of Oxford Analytica, a geopolitical risk consulting service owned by Dow Jones.

¡°The impact will only be short-term if the war was short-term,¡± he said.

¡°The longer...