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On a crisp Friday, February 14, 2025, the picturesque view of Mount Fuji stood prominently against the Shinjuku skyline in Tokyo, Japan. This stunning scene was captured by photographer Kiyoshi Ota for Bloomberg via Getty Images.
Investors in the Asia-Pacific region were gearing up for a positive market opening on Wednesday as they continued to monitor the unfolding conflict in the Middle East.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index experienced a promising start, climbing 0.35% during early trading sessions.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was also expected to see gains. The futures contracts in Chicago and Osaka suggested a rise, with figures at 54,855 and 54,870 respectively, in contrast to the previous closing value of 54,248.39.
Meanwhile, futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were slightly below the last closing mark, standing at 25,936 compared to its previous close of 25,959.9.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 25,936 compared with the index’s last close of 25,959.9.
Oil prices, which spiked to nearly $120 a barrel Monday at the height of fear around the Iran conflict, dropped from their height as traders believed a group of countries would tap emergency crude reserves to mitigate disruption caused by the conflict.
U.S. crude oil was last up 3.24% at $86.15 per barrel.
Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 fell slightly in choppy trading as oil prices pulled back and traders kept an eye on the Iran war.
The broad market index dropped 0.21% to end at 6,781.48. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 34.29 points, or 0.07%, and closed at 47,706.51. The Nasdaq Composite inched up 0.01% to settle at 22,697.10.
Earlier in the session, the Dow had dropped as much as 296.57 points, or 0.6%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively, at their lows.
