Market losses rippled across Asia on Friday, spearheaded by Taiwan’s Weighted Index plunging 3.81% to its lowest in over a month at 19,527.12. This decline was fueled by escalating tensions in the Middle East, prompting sell-offs in major regional markets.
Reports of Israel’s limited strike in Iran intensified the downturn, triggering a sell-off in stocks and risk assets, while safe-haven assets like gold surged. The Japanese yen strengthened, contrasting sharply with bitcoin’s significant drop.
Oil prices surged over 3%, with Brent crude futures briefly topping $90 a barrel before settling just above $89. Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures dipped over 1% before a slight recovery.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.14%, closing at 37,068.35, while the broader Topix index declined 1.91% to 2,626.32, marking a weekly drop of 3.65%. Japan’s March inflation data showed a headline rate of 2.7%, with the core inflation rate remaining at 2.6%.
South Korea’s Kospi index closed 1.63% lower at 2,591.86, with the Kosdaq falling 1.61% to 841.91. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index lost 1.14%, marking its sixth decline in seven days. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 1.05%, while the mainland Chinese CSI 300 slipped 0.77%. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 recorded its fifth consecutive day of losses, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.52%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added a marginal 0.06%, closing just above its 2024 flatline.
The post Friday 19th April 2024: Asian markets tumble amid Middle East tensions first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.