Aerial view of Mt. Fuji, Tokyo Tower and modern skyscrapers in Tokyo on a sunny day.
Yongyuan | E+ | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to open lower Friday, after all three major Wall Street indexes declined overnight pressured by a drop in private credit stocks and Iran-U.S. tensions.
Prospects of a strike on Iran have risen with U.S. President Donald Trump saying that he would take a call decide on military action on Tehran in the next 10 days.
Oil prices jumped in reaction to that news, with U.S. crude rising $1.24, or 1.9%, to close at $66.43 per barrel in U.S. trading. Global benchmark Brent gained $1.31, or 1.86%, to settle at $71.66.
Over in Asia, traders will assess inflation data out from Japan, with headline inflation for January dipping below the Bank of Japan 2% target for the first time in 45 months.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a weaker open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 57,140 and its counterpart in Osaka at 57,040 compared to the previous close of 57,467.83.
China’s central bank will also release its loan prime rate decision today. The current one year and five year LPRs stands at 3% and 3.5% respectively. Markets on mainland China and Hong Kong are still closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.23% in early trade.
Overnight in the U.S., private credit and software stocks were also under pressure, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average shedding 0.54%, and the broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.28%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 0.31%.
—CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Sarah Min contributed to this report.