Kamal Ghorui
Asian markets showed a mixed performance on Friday, following modest losses on Wall Street and a retreat in oil prices after a sharp spike triggered by escalating Iran-Israel tensions.Oil had a volatile session on Thursday, with Brent crude briefly hitting $119 per barrel after Iranian attacks on Gulf energy facilities followed Israel’s strike on a key Iranian natural gas field. In early Friday trading, Brent fell 1.6% to $106.90 per barrel, while benchmark US crude dropped 2% to $93.63 per barrel. The decline came after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would hold off on further attacks on Iran’s gas field at the request of US president Donald Trump.The conflict, now in its third week, has disrupted energy supply, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway between Iran and Oman, and has heightened global inflation concerns. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent suggested that Washington might ease sanctions on Iranian oil already at sea to help stabilize prices.In regional equity markets, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.6% to 5,798.23, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6% to 25,340.43. China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.2% to 4,013.16. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was closed for a holiday. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.5%, and Taiwan’s Taiex was down 0.2%.Wall Street posted modest losses on Thursday, with the S&P 500 down 0.3% to 6,606.49, the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 0.4% to 46,021.43, and the Nasdaq down 0.3% at 22,090.69. Shares of US memory chip maker Micron Technology fell 3.8% despite better-than-expected quarterly results, although the stock has risen roughly 330% over the past year amid a global memory shortage.Precious metals recovered from earlier dips, with gold rising 2.6% to $4,727.20 per ounce and silver gaining 4.2% to $74.22 per ounce. Currency movements saw the US dollar strengthen to 158.38 Japanese yen from 157.76 yen, while the euro traded slightly lower at $1.1558, down from $1.1589.The easing of oil prices helped stabilize markets, but analysts said uncertainty remains as the Iran-Israel conflict continues to impact energy supplies and global financial sentiment.
