Mt. Fuji and Shinjuku skyline in Tokyo, Friday, February 14, 2025. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on Wednesday as investors took stock of the ongoing Middle East war.
australian S&P/ASX 200 It rose 0.59% to close at 8,743.5.
Japanese Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.43% to close at 55,025.37, while Topix rose 0.94% to close at 3,698.85. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.4% to 5,609.95, while the small-cap Kosdaq closed flat at 1,136.83.
hong kong Hang Seng Index fell 0.2%, while the CSI 300 added 0.64% to close at 4,704.50.
Oil prices, which soared to nearly $120 a barrel on Monday as fears over the Iran conflict were at their height, fell from their all-time high as traders believed some countries would tap into emergency oil reserves to ease disruption from the conflict.
U.S. crude oil was last up 3.24% at $86.15 per barrel.
“The most immediate effect of an oil crisis is that it acts like a tax on the economy. When energy prices rise, households spend more on fuel and utilities and less on other things, quietly slowing consumer demand across the economy,” said David Johnson, CEO of financial services firm Vervent.
Hong Kong-listed shares in Chinese electric car maker Nio rose more than 15% after the company announced sharply improved fourth-quarter results, supported by a surge in deliveries, improved product mix and cost reductions.
Vehicle deliveries in the fourth quarter increased 71.7% year-on-year to 124,807 vehicles, sales increased 75.9% to 34,650.2 million yuan ($4,954.9 million), and vehicle profit margin improved to 18.1% from 13.1% in the same period last year.
In the US, the S&P 500 index fell slightly in choppy trading overnight as oil prices fell and traders focused on the Iran war.
The comprehensive market index fell by 0.21% to end at 6,781.48. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34.29 points, or 0.07%, to close at 47,706.51. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.01% to settle at 22,697.10.
In early trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 296.57 points, or 0.6%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit lows, down 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.
