View of the Skytree from Ueno and Asakusa in Tokyo
Jackal Pan | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to fall Wednesday, as escalating tensions between Israel and Iran weigh on investor sentiment.
Adding fuel to fire, U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing a military strike on Iran, while demanding the country’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “surrender,” former and current U.S. officials told NBC News.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, demanded “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” by Iran.
“Comments from President Trump have triggered speculation that the U.S. will get more involved in the conflict between Iran and Israel that escalated significantly five days ago,” ANZ analysts wrote in a note.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was set to open lower, with the futures contract in Chicago at 38,295 while its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 38,210, against the index’s Tuesday close of 38,536.74.
Japan exports in May declined 1.7% year on year, softer than the 3.8% decline expected by Reuters. The data comes a day after the Bank of Japan highlighted in its monetary policy statement that the country’s growth was likely to “moderate” on the back of factors like trade, which would lead to a slowdown in overseas economies and a decline in domestic corporate profits.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index last traded at 23,813, pointing to a weaker open compared to the HSI’s last close of 23,980.30.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 is slated to start the day slightly lower with futures tied to the benchmark at 8,529 compared to its last close of 8,541.30.
U.S. stock futures inched lower as traders brace for the Federal Reserve’s rate decision due Wednesday afternoon stateside.
Overnight on Wall Street, all three major averages ended the trading day lower. the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 299.29 points, or 0.70%, to close at 42,215.80. The S&P 500 shed 0.84% to end at 5,982.72, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.91% and settled at 19,521.09.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Brian Evans contributed to this report.
