Global stock markets tumble as Trump bid to avert oil crisis in strait of Hormuz fails to reassure

South Korea's Kospi leads market sell-off across Asia and Middle East, despite Trump's suggestion US Navy could protect vessels moving through vital waterway

Global markets tumbled further on Wednesday despite Donald Trump's offer to have the US navy escort tankers through the strait of Hormuz and the US military's claim that there is not a single Iranian ship underway" in the crucial waterway.

The Middle East conflict has crippled the strait, which was in effect closed by Iran after strikes by the US and Israel this weekend, raising fears of a sustained energy supply crisis that reverberated around the world.