Tokyo Tower, left, and commercial and residential buildings in the Minato district of Tokyo, Japan on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg Getty Images
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SINGAPORE – Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday following losses on Wall Street, with concerns over Middle East tensions keeping investors on edge ahead of September’s US payrolls report.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.46%. of Japan Nikki 225 Added 0.34%, while the broader-based Topix gained 0.41%. of South Korea Cosby It traded 0.19% higher, while Costco rose 0.74%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.26% in the first hour of trading. Markets in mainland China will reopen on October 8. Chinese stocks fell after officials announced support measures last week.
October trading has had a shaky start as rising tensions in the Middle East weigh on investor sentiment. Israel’s launch of a ground operation in Lebanon left investors feeling more unpredictable after Iran’s missile attack on Israel plunged stocks on Tuesday.
U.S. crude futures rose 5% overnight and rebounded Friday morning on concerns that Israel could attack Iran’s oil industry in retaliation for Tehran’s missile attack this week. US President Joe Biden suggested on Thursday that Israel might retaliate against Iran: “We’re discussing it. It will be a little bit – anyway.”
Overnight in the US, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 184.93 points, or 0.44%, to end at 42,011.59. The S&P 500 lost 0.17% to close at 5,699.94. The Nasdaq composite ended down 0.04% at 17,918.48 as downward pressure on Nvidia rallied more than 3%.
—CNBC’s Alex Haring and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
Correction: This story has been updated with an exact date for China’s market reopening.
