Asia-Pacific markets mostly fall, tracking Wall Street losses, as U.S.-Iran tensions take hold

In this articleAsia-Pacific markets were mostly lower 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 extended gains in reaction to that news, with U.S. crude rising 0.29%, to trade at $66.62 per barrel on Friday. Global benchmark Brent gained 0.26%, to settle at $71.92.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 1.29%, dragged by utilities stocks, while the Topix was 1.33% 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 1.24%, but the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.25%.Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 1.03%. Mainland China's markets are still closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.14%.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. Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that Hong Kong markets are open today. Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inboxGet this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.© 2026 Versant Media, LLC.

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