A pedestrian looks at an electronic quotation board showing numbers of the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo on September 11, 2020.
Kazuhiro Nogi | AFP | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets opened broadly lower Wednesday as concerns grew that the Middle East conflict could drag on, after President Donald Trump extended a U.S. ceasefire in Iran.
“Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
He added that the ceasefire would be extended until Tehran submitted a proposal or discussions were concluded, and that the U.S. military would continue its blockade of Iranian ports.
However, the timeline remains uncertain. Negotiators from Tehran said they wouldn’t attend the talks with the U.S., calling them a “waste of time,” Iranian state media reported on Wednesday.
The uncertainty also delayed Vice President JD Vance‘s trip to join peace talks, according to reports from Axios and The New York Times, citing U.S. officials with knowledge of the situation.
Oil futures gave up earlier gains. West Texas Intermediate futures were 0.28% lower at $89.42 per barrel as of 9:20 p.m. ET. Brent crude declined 0.29% to $98.19 per barrel.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.22%, while the Topix lost 0.78%. Japan’s exports rose for a seventh straight month, posting a trade surplus of 667 billion yen ($4.18 billion) in March, compared with a surplus of 1.1 trillion yen forecast, data from Reuters showed. The focus will also be on the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting next week.
South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.02% amid some profit-taking after reaching a record high on Tuesday. The small-cap Kosdaq extended early losses, dropping 1.57%. Producer prices in March grew at their fastest pace in over three years, supported by higher oil prices amid the conflict in the Middle East, central bank data showed.
Mainland China’s CSI300 index inched 0.11% lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 1.08%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.98% lower.
