Iran-Israel War Shakes Asia, Are Investors Fleeing?
Asia-Pacific markets fell on Wednesday, as rising tensions between Israel and Iran weighed on investor sentiment.
U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a military strike on Iran, while demanding that the country’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “surrender,” current and former U.S. officials told NBC News.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, demanded “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” by Iran.
“President Trump’s comments have fueled speculation that the U.S. will become more involved in the conflict between Iran and Israel that escalated significantly five days ago,” ANZ analysts wrote in a note.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.15%, and the Topix fell 0.18%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.44% and the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.15%.
Japan’s exports fell 1.7% year-on-year in May, less than the 3.8% drop forecast by Reuters. The data came a day after the Bank of Japan highlighted in its monetary policy statement that the country’s growth was likely to “slow” due to factors such as trade, which would cause a slowdown in overseas economies and a decline in domestic corporate profits.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1%.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index last traded at 23,813, indicating a weaker open compared with the HSI’s last close of 23,980.30.
U.S. stock futures were slightly lower as traders prepared for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision due later Wednesday in the United States.
Overnight on Wall Street, all three major indexes ended the day lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 299.29 points, or 0.70%, to close at 42,215.80. The S&P 500 fell 0.84% to close at 5,982.72, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.91% to close at 19,521.09.
Source: CNBC
