Asia-Pacific markets mostly fall, tracking Wall Street losses, as U.S.-Iran

Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower on 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 to decide on military action against 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 $66.57 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 Japan’s inflation data, with headline inflation for January dipping below the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for the first time in 45 months.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 1.29%, dragged by utilities stocks, while the Topix was 1.33% lower.

Shares of Sumitomo Pharma, one of the country’s largest pharmaceutical companies, were volatile in early trade, climbing as much as 6.81% before plunging over 11%.

South Korea’s Kospi bucked the trend to rise 1.24%, but the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.25%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 1.03%. Mainland China’s markets are still closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.14%.

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 Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that Hong Kong markets are open today.