Asia-Pacific markets mostly fall, tracking Wall Street losses, as U.S.-Iran tensions take hold
Aerial view of Mount Fuji, Tokyo Tower and modern skyscrapers in Tokyo on a sunny day.
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Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Friday after three major Wall Street indexes fell overnight, weighed down by a decline in private credit stocks and Iran-US tensions.
The possibility of an attack on Iran increased as US President Donald Trump said he would call to decide on military action against Tehran within the next 10 days.
Oil prices jumped in response to this news; U.S. crude oil rose $1.24, or 1.9%, to close at $66.57 a barrel in U.S. trading. Global benchmark Brent rose $1.31, or 1.86%, to settle at $71.66.
In Asia, traders will evaluate Japan’s inflation data; January headline inflation falls below the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for the first time in 45 months.
of japan Nikkei 225 While it decreased by 1.12%, Topix decreased by 1.18%.
shares Sumitomo PharmacyOne of the country’s largest pharmaceutical companies.
South Korea’s kospi It reversed a 1.02% uptrend, but the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.43%.
The Chinese central bank will also announce its loan interest rate decision today. Current one-year and five-year LPRs stand at 3% and 3.5% respectively. Markets in mainland China and Hong Kong are still closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index was marginally lower in early trade.
Private credit and software stocks were also under pressure overnight in the US; The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.54% and the broad-based S&P 500 lost 0.28%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 0.31%.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
