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Asia-Pacific Markets Tepid As Middle East Conflict Escalates

Asia-Pacific Markets Tepid As Middle East Conflict Escalates

In a weekend that was rife with airstrikes, the Israeli Air Force launched attacks against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon just before this group launched a missile attack on Israel. After these attacks, both sides reportedly indicated that they did not want a full-blown war.

Following the strikes, Brent crude oil increased by 0.85% and the US West Texas Intermediate went up by 0.87%. The manufacturing yield in Singapore rose by a surprising month-over-month 10.1% in July 2024 after it dropped by 4.3% in June 2024. It also came in ahead of predictions, which pegged August 2024 output at 5.3%. A year-on-year comparison showed a 1.8% increase despite the predicted 1.1% decline.


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On Monday 26 August 2024, the Nikkei slipped by 0.66% and the Topix lost 0.87%. The Japanese yen, however, gained 0.42% to record its best level since the stock sell-off on 5 August 2024. In South Korea, the Kospi slid by 0.14% and the small-cap Kosdaq dropped by 0.84% to record its fourth consecutive day of decreases.

The Australian S&P/ASX 200 increased by 0.76% and, according to CNBC data, is just 30 points away from achieving an all-time high. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed by 1.11%, while the Chinese CSI 300 lost 0.09%. On Friday 23 August 2024, the Dow Jones, Nasdaq and S&P 500 registered gains in the wake of the US Federal Reserve’s comments about imminent rate cuts in September 2024.

David Hobart

David Hobart

David Hobart is Managing Director of FinAffiliates Limited, the UK media group behind LeapRate, AskTraders and a network of more than 30 financial and trading titles published across several languages and regulated markets. He writes on the commercial side of the industry: broker marketing, client acquisition, affiliate strategy and the editorial standards that hold it together. He is based in North Norfolk.
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