Asian markets traded mostly lower in early deals on Wednesday, as escalating conflicts in the Middle East rattled investors. Tensions spiked after the US targeted Iranian tankers near Kharg Island, triggering retaliatory missile strikes and driving Brent crude oil prices toward $100 a barrel. This surge has heightened global inflation fears and renewed worries about potential interest rate hikes. Regional markets also followed a weak overnight session on Wall Street, where US indexes dropped as investors moved to the side lines ahead of highly anticipated US inflation data. Japan’s Nikkei dipped with the sharp selloff in technology and semiconductor stocks. Jitters surrounding rising domestic bond yields and potential Bank of Japan rate hikes also weighed the index down.
Nikkei down by 86.33 points or 0.13% to 65,183.00, Straits Times narrowed by 44.91 points or 0.78% to 5,722.54, Hang Seng trimmed by 98.18 points 0.39% to 25,219.00, Jakarta Composite narrowed by 38.94 points or 0.58% to 6,647.50, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index curtailed by 1.23 points or 0.07% to 1,713.17
On the flip side, KOSPI Index surged by 88.66 points or 1.27% to 7,043.18, Taiwan weighted up by 115.46 points or 0.25% to 47,221.24 and Shanghai Composite rose by 0.91 points or 0.02% to 3,941.46.
