Asia-Pacific markets mostly fall, tracking Wall Street losses, as U.S.-Iran tensions take hold
Aerial view of Mt. Fuji, Tokyo Tower and modern skyscrapers in Tokyo on a sunny day.
Yongyuan | E+ | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Friday, after all three major Wall Street indexes declined overnight pressured by a drop in private credit stocks and Iran-U.S. tensions.
Prospects of a strike on Iran have risen with U.S. President Donald Trump saying that he would take a call to decide on military action on Tehran in the next 10 days.
Oil prices jumped in reaction to that news, with U.S. crude rising $1.24, or 1.9%, to close at $66.57 per barrel in U.S. trading. Global benchmark Brent gained $1.31, or 1.86%, to settle at $71.66.
Over in Asia, traders will assess inflation data out from Japan, with headline inflation for January dipping below the Bank of Japan 2% target for the first time in 45 months.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 1.04%, while the Topix was 1.12% lower.
South Korea’s Kospi bucked the trend to rise 0.66%, but the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.19%.
China’s central bank will also release its loan prime rate decision today. The current one year and five year LPRs stands at 3% and 3.5% respectively. Markets on mainland China and Hong Kong are still closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2% in early trade.
Overnight in the U.S., private credit and software stocks were also under pressure, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average shedding 0.54%, and the broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.28%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 0.31%.
—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
