Tokyo Tower, left, and commercial and residential buildings in the Minato district of Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday, October 1, 2022. Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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SINGAPORE – Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday after losses on Wall Street, with concerns over Middle East tensions keeping investors ahead of September’s US payrolls report.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index up over 2%, continuing the rally after slipping 1% in the first hour of trading.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.46%. Japan Nikkei 225 added 0.34%, while the broad-based Topix inch up 0.41%. South Korea Kospi traded 0.19% higher, while the Kosdaq rose 0.74%.
Markets in mainland China will reopen on October 8. Chinese stocks have fallen after authorities announced support measures last week.
October trading has begun to falter as tensions in the Middle East weigh on investor sentiment. Following the decline in stocks on Friday due to Iran’s missile attack on Israel, investors are bracing for more unpredictability as Israel begins ground operations in Lebanon.
U.S. crude oil futures rose about 5% overnight and rose again Friday morning on concerns that Israel could attack Iran’s oil industry in retaliation for Tehran’s missile attack this week. US President Joe Biden on Thursday commented on the possibility of Israeli retaliation against Iran: “We discussed it.
The Reserve Bank of India is likely to intervene in the non-deliverable forwards market ahead of the opening of the local spot forex market to bolster the rupee, which is hovering near an all-time low, Reuters reported. On Thursday, the Indian Rupee fell for the fourth session in a row.
The Indian rupee is currently trading at 83.96 against the dollar, and the Nifty 50 is 0.27% lower.
Shares in Asian shipping companies declined sharply after major US unions and the United States Maritime Alliance reached a tentative deal, suspending a three-day strike.
Japan Nippon Yusen and Kawasaki Kisen down 9.48% and 9.65%. South Korea’s Pan Ocean lost 4.77%, while HMM declined 5.06%. Taiwan Yang Ming Marine fell 9.08%.
Overnight in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 184.93 points, or 0.44%, to 42,011.59. The S&P 500 lost 0.17% to close at 5,699.94. The Nasdaq Composite ended the day off 0.04% at 17,918.48 as a more than 3% rally in Nvidia capped the downward pressure.
—CNBC’s Alex Harring and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
Correction: This story has been updated with the correct date for the Chinese market to reopen.