On Friday morning (20 February, 9:31 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in the Asia Pacific exhibited a downward trend, following a sell-off on Wall Street amid losses in the U.S. private credit sector and rising geopolitical concerns related to Iran.
Global markets weighed the risks of escalating conflict in the Middle East. President Donald Trump indicated he may decide within ten days whether to authorize military action against Iran, as the U.S. continues to amass forces in the region. The buildup adds to uncertainty as negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program continue.
In Asia, Japanese inflation figures were in focus for traders as consumer price growth slipped below the Bank of Japan’s official 2% target for the first time in nearly four years. Government data showed headline inflation eased to 1.5% year-on-year in January, its lowest since March 2022. This marked the end of a 45-month period during which inflation remained above the central bank’s benchmark.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, moderated to 2% in January. This was in line with economists’ expectations and down from 2.4% in December, reaching the lowest level since January 2024. Declines in the prices of fresh food, raw meats, and flowers, along with a sharper drop in petroleum product costs, underpinned the overall slowdown.
Meanwhile, markets in Hong Kong are back open after the Lunar New Year holidays.
Japan’s NIKKEI slumped by 1.32% to 56,708.73. South Korea’s KOSPI surged by 1.37% to 5,755.20, and Australia’s ASX 200 dipped by 0.13% to 9,074.00. Hong Kong’s HSI fell by 1.10% to 26,412.90.
The U.S. stock markets edged down on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 0.54% to 49,395.16. NASDAQ dropped by 0.31% to 22,682.72, and S&P 500 declined by 0.28% to 6,861.89. VIX soared by 3.11% to 20.23.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Thursday as market participants closely monitored rising geopolitical tensions involving the U.S. and Iran, both of which have intensified military operations in the Middle East region. Brent crude futures concluded the session $1.31 higher, ending at $71.66 per barrel, representing a 1.9% increase. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude advanced by $1.24, also up 1.9%, to settle at $66.43 per barrel.
This morning, Brent crude futures rose 20 cents, or 0.28%, to $71.86 per barrel, and the WTI advanced 33 cents, or 0.50%, to $66.76 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures grew by 0.36% to $5,015.30 per Troy ounce.
