Asian stock markets opened strong on Friday, the last trading day of the week, after US markets largely remained flat overnight.
On Thursday, global markets, including Wall Street, tanked after US President Donald Trump threatened to continue and expand military operations against Iran for another two or three weeks.
Investors, who were hoping for some positive or de-escalatory signals, quickly sold off their holdings after Trump announced the continuation of operations in the region.
His latest speech triggered a massive sell-off, leading to a rout in US and major global markets, while Asian markets fell by over one per cent on Thursday.
However, on Friday, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose more than 1 per cent, while South Korea’s KOSPI climbed more than 2 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index bucked the rally, dropping about 0.7 per cent.
In the US, stocks had a volatile session on Thursday after Trump pledged to ramp up the war with Iran.
The benchmark S&P 500 eventually closed 0.11 per cent higher than the previous session.
There is cautious optimism among investors regarding the Indian market, where expectations of a bounce-back from yesterday’s losses remain high.
Meanwhile, prices of gold and silver are expected to fall once again as investor confidence is likely to return to stock markets.
Crude oil prices are also likely to recede today, though disruptions in energy supplies are expected to continue in the coming weeks unless the war escalation subsides.
Also read: Crude oil surges past $106
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