Asian stock markets climbed Friday even as the Iran war continued to disrupt global energy supplies, with oil prices slipping despite ongoing restrictions on tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
South Korea's Kospi surged 2.5% to 7,475.94, clawing back losses from earlier in the week. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 1.2% to 68,557.73, driven by a 10.7% jump in SoftBank Group, a key investor in OpenAI, and a 2.7% gain in chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron. Hong Kong's Hang Seng traded 0.5% higher at 24,156.29, while India's Sensex added 1%.
Energy Markets Under Pressure
Oil prices yo-yoed again Friday as global supplies remained constrained by a limited number of vessels able to cross the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for energy transport. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 0.8% to $75.66 per barrel. It was trading near $72 a barrel before the war began in late February. Benchmark U.S. crude shed 0.9% to $71.47 a barrel.
The energy disruption comes as tensions between Iran and the U.S. escalated this week. President Donald Trump declared the Iran war ceasefire agreement "over" as the United States and Iran exchanged attacks. The breakdown threatens to prolong a conflict that's already strained global energy markets and raised costs for consumers worldwide.
Tech Sector Mixed Signals
Shares in memory chipmaker SK Hynix, whose debut on the Nasdaq in New York is set for Friday, fell 0.3% in Seoul despite the broader market rally. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5% to 8,806.00. The Shanghai Composite index erased earlier losses to fall 1% to 3,996.16.
U.S. futures were mixed as traders assessed the implications of renewed conflict in the Middle East.
Currency Moves Signal Investor Caution
The yen gained against the dollar after Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama told a parliamentary committee that the government plans to encourage big pension funds to invest more in domestic, yen-denominated assets. The U.S. dollar fell to 161.70 Japanese yen from 162.37 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1439, up from $1.1430.
Japan's policy shift reflects growing concerns about currency volatility amid geopolitical uncertainty. The move to steer pension fund investments toward domestic assets could provide more stability for Japanese workers' retirement savings while reducing exposure to international market turbulence.
Why This Matters:
The ongoing Iran war continues to impose real costs on households and businesses worldwide through disrupted energy supplies and elevated oil prices. While financial markets have shown resilience, the breakdown of ceasefire negotiations threatens to prolong instability in a region critical to global energy security. Workers and consumers bear the burden of these geopolitical failures through higher fuel costs and economic uncertainty. Japan's decision to redirect pension investments toward domestic assets highlights how ordinary savers' retirement security is increasingly vulnerable to international conflicts beyond their control. The limited access to the Strait of Hormuz demonstrates how military escalation directly translates into economic pain for people far from the conflict zone, underscoring the need for diplomatic solutions that prioritize human welfare over military posturing.