Asian shares retreated on Friday as hawkish comments from some Federal Reserve officials and escalating geopolitical tensions put a dent in risk sentiment, while traders were also cautious ahead of U.S. jobs data due later in the day.
The threat of supply disruptions owing to a prolonged conflict in the Middle East kept Brent futures above $90 a barrel – a level not seen since last October.
Israel had on Thursday braced for a possible retaliatory attack after its suspected killing of Iranian generals in Damascus this week, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country would harm “whoever harms us or plans to harm us”.
In a later call with Netanyahu, U.S. President Joe Biden threatened to condition support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza on it taking steps to protect aid workers and civilians.
“There is a little bit of edginess in the air not helped by a spike in oil prices amid an increase in Israel-Iran tensions,” said Rodrigo Catril, senior FX strategist at National Australia Bank.
“The risk of escalation in the Middle East conflict is rising.”
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.66%, tracking a late tumble on Wall Street as risk aversion dominated the market mood. The index was set to end the week little changed.
A holiday in China also made for thinner trading conditions.
Tokyo’s Nikkei fell more than 2%, pressured in part by a stronger yen thanks to the prospect of further rate hikes there and more jawboning from Japanese official
Wall Street closed sharply lower Thursday as Federal Reserve officials indicated an interest rate cut may not occur so soon.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged 0.6% lower.
Traders were hesitant to take on new positions ahead of Friday’s closely-watched U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which will feed into expectations for the Fed’s rate outlook.
A slew of solid U.S. economic data out this week has stoked doubts about the pace and scale of Fed easing. A cooling U.S. services sector and comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell this week, however, reinforced the view that rate cuts were likely to commence at some point this year.
Source: Reuters
Recent Comments