Aerial view of Mt. Fuji, Tokyo Tower and modern skyscrapers in Tokyo on a sunny day.
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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 against 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 Japan’s inflation data, with headline inflation for January dipping below the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for the first time in 45 months.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 1.12%, while the Topix was 1.18% lower.
Shares of Sumitomo Pharma, one of the country’s largest pharmaceutical companies, were volatile in early trade, climbing as much as 6.81% before plunging over 11%.
South Korea’s Kospi bucked the trend to rise 1.02%, but the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.43%.
China’s central bank will also release its loan prime rate decision today. The current one-year and five-year LPRs stand 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 marginally 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.
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