Asia-Pacific markets fell on Thursday, following Wall Street’s overnight losses, as tensions between Iran and the US kept oil prices high, fueling energy and inflation concerns.
Kuwait’s international airport was attacked by Iran early Wednesday, just a day after the US Central Command said it had downed several Iranian ballistic missiles and drones and launched “self-defense strikes” on Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf. It was in response to “attempted attacks” by Tehran, it said.
If necessary, Israel and the US are ready to attack Iran again, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNBC in an exclusive interview.
“Israel is ready and American forces are ready. I think Iran should take it into account. I think they are taking it into account, but they are playing with fire,” Netanyahu said.
West Texas Intermediate futures rose more than 2% to close at $96.02 on Wednesday, while international benchmark Brent crude rose nearly 2% to end at $97.81 per barrel, SEEbiz reports. Futures were about 1% lower on Thursday.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.24%, but small-cap Kosdaq rose more than 2.61% after trading resumed after the holiday.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.77% after hitting a record high in the previous session, while the Topix fell 1.33%. SoftBank Group fell more than 11.04% amid news that it has sold a 3.25% stake in Indian eyewear firm Lenskart Solutions through a block deal.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was lower by 1.30%.
China’s CSI 300 fell 0.58%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.49%. India’s Nifty 50 fell 0.30%, while the BSE Sensex fell 0.33%.
